Japan’s Erex to build 50 MW biomass power plant in northern Vietnam

Japan's renewable energy firm Erex Co., Ltd. has received an investment registration certificate to build a 50-megawatt biomass power plant in Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Yen Bai.

Chairman of Yen Bai province Tran Huy Tuan handed over the certificate for the Yen Bai 1 biomass power plant project to Hitoshi Honna, representative director and president of Erex, in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The plant will cover 10 hectares in Van Yen district and have an investment of $100-120 million.

This is Erex’s second investment in Yen Bai and the first electricity project in the province to receive approval since the government issued the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) last May, Tuan noted.

The plant is scheduled for operation in early 2027, with around 45 MW supplied to the national grid. It will be fed with nearly 500,000 tons of woody residue annually.

According to Erex, it will sell the electricity from the plant at 8.47 U.S. cents per kWh to state utility Vietnam Electricity, which holds a monopoly in power distribution.

This is Erex’s second biomass power plant in the Southeast Asian country. Its first Vietnam plant, with a capacity of 20 MW, is under construction in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang and slated for operation later this year.

Both plants have been selected for Japan’s Financing Program for Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) Model Projects in FY2023.

Erex has plans to generate over 1,000 MW of biomass power across 18 locations in Vietnam. The other sites include Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, and Tuyen Quang in the north; Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Ha Tinh, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, and Dak Lak in the central region; and Binh Phuoc, Long An, An Giang, Binh Phuoc, and Can Tho in the south, according to the company’s website.