South Korean SY Panel Group signs for Bac Lieu’s largest solar power plant
South Korean SY Panel Group signs for Bac Lieu’s largest solar power plant
SY Panel Group will develop a $450 million solar power plant in Dong Hai district of the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu, according to information published on newswire Bac Lieu.
Aiming to affirm the company’s determination to implement the project, a representative of SY Panel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bac Lieu Department of Planning and Investment.
According to the MoU, the construction of the two above projects, which will cover an area of 400 hectares, will last until June 2019. The construction of the solar power plant alone will be divided into two phases. The first phase of the project will have a capacity of 50MW, while the second will bring the capacity up to 300MW.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of the Bac Lieu People’s Committee Duong Thanh Trung vowed that the province will provide the best possible conditions for the investor to implement the project.
Vietnam in general and Bac Lieu in particular are considered ideal destinations for investment in the solar power sector due to the favourable climate with solar irradiance of 4.3kWh per square metre and the average 2,000 hours of sunlight each year.
Besides, the government issued favourable policies to stimulate investment in the sector. Notably, on April 11, the government issued Decision No.11/2017/QD-TTg on an incentive mechanism for developing solar power projects.
Decision 11 is considered exciting news for domestic and foreign investors interested in the Vietnamese electricity market, especially since it requires Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to purchase all electricity produced by grid-connected projects at a minimum of 9.35 cent per kWh.
Furthermore, aiming at accelerating the development of registered projects while simultaneously luring in more new investment capital, the World Bank and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) plan to implement the pilot programme to auction solar power with the floor price of 9.35 US cent per kWh.
Accordingly, the Vietnamese government will issue set capacities (e.g. generating 500MW by 2020) and companies will be able to bid with complete project plans and feed-in-tariffs. The winner, generally the investor offering the best prices, will be awarded the project and the power purchase agreement to then arrange capital, land, and complete the advertisement procedures to implement the project.
The programme is expected to be implemented before the decision encouraging solar power development in Vietnam expires in June 2019.
