ADB set to approve $91.4 mln loan for AC Energy wind farm in central Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is set to approve a $91.4 million loan for Filipino electricity producer AC Energy on October 31 to support the construction and operation of an 88-megawatt wind farm in Ninh Thuan province.

This transaction consists of $35 million from ordinary capital sources and a B loan of $56.4 million, the Philippines-headquartered bank said, adding that the renewable power project is aligned with two of the three pillars of ADB's country partnership strategy for Vietnam.

These two are increasing the inclusiveness of infrastructure and service delivery, and improving environmental sustainability and climate change response. The project also supports the nation’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 8-25% by 2030.

AC Energy, the electricity platform of Ayala Group, one of the Philippines’ largest conglomerates, is ramping up its investments in renewables in Vietnam.

The company and its partner Hanoi-based BIM Group started the commercial operations of the wind farm in September 2021 in Ninh Thuan, built at a cost of $155 million. Also in the south-central coastal province, the duo had developed a 405MW solar farm, putting it online in 2019.

The semi-arid province is often selected for combinations of wind and solar farms at the same site as it offers non-stop winds and sunlight all year round.

The U.S. Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City last October awarded a $2.96 million grant to AMI AC Renewables, a joint venture of AC Energy and Vietnamese firm AMI Renewables, to build a battery energy storage system in Khanh Hoa province next to Ninh Thuan.

In October 20, 2021, ADB announced it had approved a new energy policy to support universal access to reliable and affordable energy services, while promoting the low-carbon transition in Asia and the Pacific.

“Together with our elevated ambition to deliver $100 billion in climate financing to our developing member countries in 2019-2030, it provides a clear path for ADB’s contribution to an environmentally sustainable energy future,” ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said in the statement.