Firms sign power purchase agreement for 20 MW husk-to-power plant

State-run Electric Power Trading Co. (EVNEPTC) has signed a power purchase agreement with Hau Giang Bioenergy JSC (HBE) for the latter's 20 megawatt husk-to-power project in the southern province of Hau Giang.

The power facility, set to become Vietnam's biggest rice husk-to-power plant, is slated to start commercial operation in 2024. Power Engineering Consulting JSC 2 is the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project.

The 10-hectare, 20-MW project is in Long My town of the Mekong Delta province and invested by HBE. It is expected to promote a circular economic model by using rice husks as fuel and bolster biomass power development in the country, as well as increase farmer incomes.

The VND875 billion ($35.28 million) project is set to begin construction later this month, Hau Giang Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Hoa said at an event last month.

As of mid-October, the province compensated 15 out of 20 households and individuals in the project area and retrieved 68% of the designated area for construction.

According to the planning of biomass energy in the Mekong Delta, the total potential in Hau Giang province is 60 MW, including 30 MW of husk-to-power, 20 MW of sugarcane bagasse-power, and 10 MW of straw-to-power.

The Mekong Delta is Vietnam's rice bowl and Hau Giang is home to some 190,000 hectares of rice, providing about 1.2 million tons of rice a year, according to provincial data. Vietnam's total rice husks are estimated at about 11 million tons each year.