Double miracle for incredible installation speed in Vietnam's wind power sector

Sep 1st at 08:57

01-09-2021 08:57:44+07:00

With unrivalled determination, creativity, and spirited leadership, the joint venture of AMACCAO and IC Build has created a double miracle in the Vietnamese wind power industry by successfully installing the largest turbine within the shortest time on record.

Located in the fossil fuel Southeast Asia, Vietnam's wind energy market has emerged as one of the most successful in the global renewable energy industry in recent years.

Double miracle for incredible installation speed in Vietnam's wind power sector

Vietnam is among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change. However, it possesses a geographical position and terrain suitable for ample green energy development. Indeed, the country has made efforts to promote wind power with a view to creating sustainable and clean energy as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This is why Vietnam has launched a series of attractive policies calling for investment in the wind power industry over the past 10 years.

In 2011, Vietnam only recorded 50 registered wind power projects, mainly onshore power with even the highest total registered value below $300 million. By August 2021, as many as 106 projects have been completed and connected to the national grid. A series of offshore wind power projects valued at billions of dollars in total have been implemented by both local and international firms.

Despite the advantages, Vietnam has yet to unlock the full potential of its wind resources due to a lack of human resources, infrastructure, and professional companies. According to a report by the European Wind Energy Association, the biggest cost for a wind power project is the turbine itself, accounting for 50 per cent of total expenses.

The rest is used to cover foundation construction, maintenance, construction of operating systems, transportation, and installation of equipment, each costing from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the project. Apart from the cost of foundation and road construction, Vietnamese contractors hardly get any other source of money to cover the costs.

Turbines are mainly ordered from international suppliers while foreign experts are employed as consultants and operators. The transportation and installation are mainly done by foreign companies with very few domestic enterprises.

It is a challenging task to construct and install turbines on the mountainous area

In fact, difficulties in transportation and installment comes not only from the lack of human expertise and experience but also from lack of equipment. Most wind power projects in Vietnam are located in the steep mountain passes and inaccessible reaches of the south-central region, making it difficult to transport and install turbine blades that are nearly 100m in length and weigh hundreds of tonnes each. Contractors have to set up the turbines at a height of over 100m without scaffolding or an operating floor. The only way is to install a super-heavy crane system.

The specialist cranes weigh up to 800 tonnes and are worth approximately VND100 billion ($4.35 million) each, supported by smaller, 170m long cranes that also cost millions of dollars. These huge investment costs are an obstacle for any firm looking to become professional wind power contractors.

However, these difficulties did not deter the AMACCAO-IC Build joint venture. Established by AMACCAO JSC and Indochina Build, both member companies of the multi-industry group AMACCAO Vietnam, with the goal of becoming the leading contractor for the construction and installment of wind power projects in Vietnam, AMACCAO-IC Build invested nearly VND400 billion ($17.4 million) into purchasing two of the 800-tonne specialist cranes and different cranes that can lift 300, 200 and 150 tonnes, with the accompanying super-long and super-heavy vehicles.

With these equipment were the first miracles performed in Vietnamese wind power project construction by AMACCO-IC Build.

An entire view of the wind power project in Quang Tri province

Double miracle in the wind power industry

While a new name in wind power construction and installation, AMACCAO-IC Build brings significant experience in assembling super-heavy reinforced concrete components in construction projects and building some of the tallest 40-68-storey high-rise buildings in Vietnam.

In 2021, the joint venture embarked on implementing two Vonta wind power plants with a total investment value of up to VND3.9 trillion ($169.57 million) owned by Khe Sanh Wind Power JSC. The joint venture also signed two new projects worth more than VND600 billion ($26.1 million) in total value. The projects are located in the border highland communes of Tan Lien and Huong Loc in Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province.

The terrain is divided by mountains and rivers, posing a challenge for transportation and installation. The initial successes with these projects highlighted AMACCAO-IC Build as one of the rare Vietnamese contractors capable of handling wind power installation contracts, and the joint venture quickly gained the trust of domestic and foreign investors.

AMACCAO-IC Build brings significant experience in assembling super-heavy reinforced concrete components

A miracle is that AMACCAO-IC Build was picked by Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. as the general contractor to construct the infrastructure and install the largest turbine in Vietnam in terms of capacity. The turbine is the highest (up to 135m), has the longest wingspan (up to 78m), and is the heaviest (up to 118 tonnes) in Vietnam. While common turbines in Vietnam are about 100-110m high with a wingspan of just over 60m and weight of 60-70 tonnes, the success of the Goldwind project is testament to the capability of AMACCAO-IC Build in the field of super-long and super-heavy construction.

The largest turbine in Vietnam is installed by AMACCAO-IC Build

In addition, through the sheer creativity of its people, AMACCAO-IC Build created yet another miracle in the speed of assembly. Accordingly, while foreign contractors take 10-12 days per turbine, AMACCAO-IC Build managed to reduce this to only 6-7 days. Discounting transport and disassembly time for the super-heavy cranes between turbine locations, installation took only 3-4 days, performance to impress Goldwind, the world's largest turbine manufacturer.

While the techniques of foreign contractors are decades ahead of Vietnam, AMACCAO-IC Build was able to compete on even footing through hard work, research, intelligence, and dedication of all leaders, engineers, and workers.

As a single day of delay could cost VND billions, speed was of the essence – and AMACCAO-IC Build stepped up to the plate by finishing the package within a single month.

Vu Van Ngoc, general director of the joint venture said that members have entered the field with ample experience in building the tallest, heaviest, and largest projects in Vietnam. “However, even more important than the large equipment, we would be nowhere without our team of determined and enthusiastic engineers. Their ideas helped speed up the assembly process, which is highly appreciated by investors and foreign experts. They even compare us with the leading contractors in the world. All of them are very impressed with the speed, technique and especially labour safety during the installation process.”

“However, we must remain humble and continue to improve our installation technology. With the equipment and people we have, we aim to be the No.1 contractor for wind power projects across Vietnam,” he stated.