AC Energy, partner inaugurate Vietnam solar plant

Ninh Thuan, Vietnam – AC Energy Inc., the energy platform of Ayala Corp., and its partner BIM Group have inaugurated the $294-million, 330-megawatt (MW) solar power plant here – a pioneering project of its scale in Southeast Asia.

The project is AC Energy’s maiden greenfield project in Vietnam which company officials said could spur more partnerships in renewable energy projects such as wind.

The solar farm – comprising three facilities with installed capacities of 30 MW, 250 MW, and 50 MW – is the first project under BIM/AC Renewables, the renewable energy development platform of AC Energy and the BIM Group.

The 30-MW solar farm started commercial operations last week, while the 250-MW and 50-MW solar plants will commence commercial operations within the first week of May.

“We are proud to be part of this project which among many others, firmly establishes Ninh Thuan as the renewables capital of Vietnam,” said AC Energy chairman Fernando Zobel de Ayala during the plant’s inauguration.

The BIM/AC Renewables solar farm sits on over 300 hectares of land and is one of the largest solar farms in Southeast Asia equipped with the latest technology to ensure efficient operations.

It is expected to generate 545 million kwh of renewable energy annually and generate income and jobs for the province of Ninh Thuan.

Construction of the $294 million solar project started in January 2018, taking place in over 14 months and employing 2,000 workers throughout the construction phase.

BIM Group vice chairman and CEO Doan Quoc Huy said the solar farm was a very challenging project as it is the biggest in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia and had to be done in a very short timeline.

“The actual construction timeline was nine months for this project. We had to install a million panels. We’ve had infrastructure challenges… logistical challenge obviously. We had to build the fastest transmission line… the previous record to build a 220-kilovolt (kv) substation in nine months, we actually had to do it in 7.5 months and we pulled it off,” Huy said.

To be able to finish the project within the timeframe, BIM/AC Renewables tapped several contractors to fast-track the completion.

“We couldn’t find one contractor who could tackle everything. So different contractors bring different competencies to the team,” Huy said.

For financing, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) was the sole lender, providing non-recourse project financing of $232 million.