Companies to invest $3.3 billion in solar projects in Vietnam’s Daklak province

BUON MA THUOT, March 11 (Reuters) – Vietnam’s Daklak province on Saturday granted licences and signed memorandums of understanding for the development of several solar power projects worth a combined $3.3 billion.

Vietnam has been mostly reliant on coal-fired and hydro power plants to accommodate its annual electricity demand growth of around 11 percent, but wants to boost its renewable energy output amid rising resources scarcity and environmental issues.

U.S. group AES Corporation signed an memorandum of understanding with the province to invest $750 million in a solar plant with expected capacity of 300-500 megawatts.

Vietnamese private firm Xuan Thien Daklak on Saturday received a provincial government licence to invest $2.2 billion in a 2,000-megawatt solar power project in Daklak province in the Central Highlands.

South Korea’s Solar Park Global also received a certificate to invest $45 million in a solar power project and Vietnamese Long Thanh Infrastructure Development and Investment Company will invest $308 million in a 250-megawatt solar plant.

Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam are seeking to secure sources of solar energy and have introduced targets to fire up green energy generation as global agreements to curb pollution take effect. (Reporting by Mai Nguyen; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: Reuters