Japan renewable firm Erex plans 50MW biomass power plant in central Vietnam

Japanese renewable energy firm Erex Co., Ltd. plans to build a 50MW biomass power plant in Vietnam’s central coastal province of Binh Dinh.

The VND2.4 trillion ($97.8 million) project will have an annual output of 296.4 million kWh, using stoker technology, according to the provincial Department of Planning and Investment. It is set to begin construction in 2027 and enter commercial operation in 2030.

The project site of 15-20 hectares is subject to surveys jointly conducted by Erex and the Institute of Energy under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with priority given to locations with easy access that do not conflict with the province’s natural forest and forest lands.

The firm expects to initiate the project as soon as the under-drafting deployment plan for the national power development plan VIII (PDP VIII) is approved, Erex emphasized.

Per Erex’s calculations, the power plant will help reduce 250,695 tons of carbon emissions yearly. The factory will also conduct treatment for gas emission and solid waste per regulations, while the generated ash, slag, and biomass fuel will be delivered to suitable consumers.

In July 2023, Erex and local partner Sakura Green Energy JSC broke ground on a VND474.8 billion ($19.99 million) biomass fuel plant in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai.

The three-hectare factory has a designed annual capacity of 150,000 tons of wood pellets and 305,000 tons of wood chip products. The plant, the first of 14 Erex projects planned in the country, is scheduled to begin operations in the third quarter of 2025.

In August-September 2023, Erex Co., Ltd. announced its plans to build biomass power plants in the northern highlands provinces of Lao Cai and Bac Kan, and the central province of Ha Tinh.