GE Wind to supply Vietnam Wind farm

GE has signed a contract to supply turbines for a wind project in Vietnam.

The US company will provide 11 2.4MW-116 units for the Phuong Mai 1 wind farm in Binh Dinh province.

The wind farm is slated to begin producing power by the first half of 2021.

Special purpose company Phuong Mai Wind Power is developing the project. GE will also provide technical advisory services.

Phuong Mai 1 will be the second wind farm in Vietnam to use the manufacturer’s 2.4MW-116 machines.

Phuong Mai Wind Power is a joint investment by Truong Thanh Development and Construction Investment and Hanoi Construction Industrial Investment.

Its deputy director Nguyen Duy Hung said: “We are excited to form the first partnership with a competent and reliable player in the industry like GE.

“We appreciate GE’s immediate response and commitment to this project. The contract is a result of just three months of contract discussion. We expect the project will come into operation earlier than scheduled.”

Agribank Trang An will provide financing for the project.

GE Renewable Energy south Asia onshore wind business regional leader Gilan Sabatier said: “Phuong Mai 1 illustrates our continuous commitment to bringing customised solutions to our customers and meeting their specific project requirements.

“We are thrilled to be able to contribute to Vietnam’s energy transition and to continue supporting the local communities in doing so.”

GE operates 128MW of wind capacity in the country.

Earlier this month Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) filed a report to the Prime Minister’s office proposing an extension to the wind feed-in tariff (FiT).

The FiT was originally set to expire in November 2021. MOIT has recommended extending the FiT period for wind projects in Decision 39 to 31 December 2023.

The ministry also proposed a new FiT for wind power projects having commercial operation date from between 1 November 2021 and 31 December 2023.

After 2023, wind power projects will be awarded through an auctioning mechanism, said MOIT in its communication.

The ministry cited several reasons for the FiT extension, including power shortages due to the delayed installation of some of the natural gas and coal projects, planning law delays, long construction timeline of wind projects, in addition to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the industry.

The Global Wind Energy Council outlined the impact of COVID-19 to the MOIT to “better highlight how the health crisis would impact supply chain, meeting project deadlines, and securing investor confidence”.

According to GWEC’s data Vietnam had a cumulative installed wind power capacity of over 487MW by the end of 2019 and is predicted to install approximately 4GW of additional wind capacity by 2025, of which at least 1GW will be offshore wind.