Banpu Power bags 50-megawatt solar farm in Ha Tinh province in Vietnam
Banpu Power Plc (BPP), the power generation arm of non-oil energy conglomerate Banpu Plc, has acquired Ha Tinh Solar Power Joint Stock Co in a deal worth US$23.9 million — around 788 million baht — marking the first time Banpu has acquired a solar power facility in Vietnam.
The move is aimed to support Banpu’s plan to expand its renewable energy business.
Ha Tinh Solar Power Joint Stock operates a 50-megawatt solar farm in Ha Tinh province in the North Central Coast region.
The purchase deal was made through BRE Singapore Pte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Banpu Next Co, the renewable energy and energy technology arm of Banpu Plc.
Kirana Limpaphayom, chief executive of BPP, said the acquisition is in line with the company’s policy to operate thermal and renewable power businesses across Asia-Pacific.
“It is our first investment in a solar power facility in Vietnam, a strategic country where we operate wind power business. Vietnam also has high energy demand and clear state policies to support renewable energy,” he said.
The Ha Tinh solar farm, which started commercial operation in June 2019, is given a feed-in tariff rate of 9.35 cents per kilowatt-hour.
It is one of the largest solar power facilities in the North Central Coast region.
The Ha Tinh solar farm supplies electricity through the national grid system under a power purchase agreement with state-run Vietnam Electricity for 20 years.
The investment in Ha Tinh solar farm followed Banpu’s recent announcement of the commercial operation of its 20-MW Kesennuma solar farm in Japan.
Banpu invested in the Kasennuma solar farm through Banpu Next Co.
The investments increase BPP’s electricity generation capacity to 3,357MW, calculated as a proportion of its shareholding in power businesses.
Banpu is also planning to start commercial operation of another two renewable power projects.
The first to start will be the Shirakawa solar power project in Japan, with 10MW of installed capacity, sometime this month.
The second project to start will be the Vinh Chau wind power project in Vietnam, with a capacity of 30MW, in the first quarter of next year.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2225943/bpp-bags-solar-power-facility-in-vietnam
