AC Energy Corp. (ACEN) and its partner, The Blue Circle, announced Monday the completion of Phase 2 of their wind power project in Vietnam.
“We are very pleased to have been able to build, connect and reach commercial operations of this second phase of our Mui Ne site. 2021 has been undeniably a record year for the expansion of wind power in Vietnam and we are proud to have contributed with this project,” said Olivier Duguet, CEO of The Blue Circle.
The Mui Ne Project in the Binh Thuan Province of South Vietnam consists of eight turbines, with a unit capacity of 5 MW for a total of 40 MW. The project consists of the largest rotor diameter for an onshore wind project in Asia and is the first to use blades in two pieces assembled on site.
Construction was completed after only eight months with over 450 construction staff involved in the difficult context of Covid-19 throughout the construction process.
“This two-pieces blade technology is a game-changer for onshore sites as it will allow larger capacity machines, lowering our cost of energy and enhancing competitiveness of wind energy. I am proud of our team for managing to achieve the project construction in time while facing exceptional constraints during a global pandemic,” said Hervé Grillot, chief operating officer of The Blue Circle.
The Mui Ne wind project site has a total expansion potential of up to 170 MW in one of the best wind resource areas in continental Vietnam. The project’s estimated cost is around $70 million, which is financed by debt and equity, and has qualified for the wind feed-in-tariff of 8.5 US cents per kWh.
It is assumed that roughly 130,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided annually, contributing to a cleaner energy mix for the country.
“We are delighted by the completion of Phase 2 of the Mui Ne Project, and the overall progress made in expanding our renewables presence in Vietnam. We are thankful to our long-standing partners at The Blue Circle for seeing this project through amidst the pandemic, and we are encouraged that ACEN’s other partnerships across Vietnam will likewise bring to fruition more renewable energy projects in the country,” said Patrice Clausse, Head of International Group of ACEN.
ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, has about 2,900 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. The company’s renewable share of capacity is at around 80 percent.
ACEN’s goal is to reach 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.