AC Energy seeks wind power deals in Vietnam

NINH THUAN, Vietnam— The Ayala group’s AC Energy is finalizing deals for wind power projects that need to be up and running in two and a half years, following its rush to build solar power plants here.

AC Energy president Eric Francia said in an interview that while talks with Vietnamese partners are still ongoing, the parties involved realize that any wind project needs to be operating by November 2021 to qualify for incentives.

“The goal is to meet that deadline set by the Vietnamese government for wind projects to qualify for feed-in tariff,” Francia said, referring to a scheme meant to encourage investments in renewable energy sources.

This was the similar predicament with the 330-megawatt solar farm—one of the largest in Southeast Asia— which was inaugurated over the weekend in this province.

The same site where the solar farm stands, owned by AC Energy’s local partner BIM Group, also has the potential to host wind turbines with an aggregate capacity of at least 300 MW.

Aside from that, AC Energy is working on a deal with another local firm—AMI Renewables Energy Joint Stock Co.—for a wind project in Quang Binh province.

In 2018, the Ayala group’s energy platform signed a memorandum of understanding with the Quang Binh provincial government that supports a 352-MW wind farm with a total estimated cost of $493 million.

Quang Binh province has a potential to support 800 MW to 1,000 MW of wind power, and has been actively pitching investment opportunities to power firms.