Bamboo Capital solar power project approved for commercial operation

Bamboo Capital Group's Phu My solar power plant in the central province of Binh Dinh has become Vietnam's first transitional renewable energy project to be given a commercial operation date (COD) acceptance.

Transitional projects are those that missed out on preferential feed-in-tariffs (FiTs). The 20-year preferential FiTs are 9.35 U.S. cents per kWh (Decision 11/2017) and 7.09-8.38 U.S. cents per kWh (Decision 13/2020) for solar power projects that became operational by December 31, 2020; and 8.35-9.8 U.S. cents per kWh (Decision 39/2018) for wind power projects that became operational by November 1, 2021.

Construction started on May 29, 2020 at the 325-hectare Phu My solar power plant, which is the largest of its kind in the central region with a capacity of 330 megawatts and a total investment of more than VND6.5 trillion ($276.7 million).

On December 31, 2020, the plant was put into commercial operation with 216 MW out of its total capacity, enjoying a price of 7.09 U.S. cents per kWh for 20 years under Decision 13.

After more than 2 years waiting for a pricing mechanism for transitional projects, the remaining 114 MW of Phu My solar power plant was officially approved for commercial operation on May 30, 2023.

This proves that Bamboo Capital's project has been implemented methodically, meeting all legal requirements and regulations of state management agencies. All 330 MW of the largest solar power plant in the central region, once commercially utilized, will contribute significantly to the group’s revenue, and add value to the electricity industry.

At its full capacity, the plant will generate about 520 million kWh per year, serving 200,000 households and helping reduce CO2 emissions by about 146,000 tons.

As the Power Development Plan VIII (PDP VIII) was approved, a new chapter has been opened to renewable energy developers in general and Bamboo Capital in particular.

The priority policies for developing renewable energy in the plan, especially the development of offshore wind power projects, have confirmed Bamboo Capital's right vision in the clean energy development strategy.

It has conducted mergers & acquisitions (M&As) of wind power projects and currently owns 550 MW of wind power, with 300 MW being developed in Ca Mau and Tra Vinh provinces. Bamboo Capital has also actively surveyed and looked for opportunities to develop wind power in potential localities in the northern mountainous region, such as Dien Bien and Yen Bai.

The policy to restrict solar power projects after the massive growth period of 2020-2021 has not had much impact on Bamboo Capital because this group has sensitively switched to wind power. It currently owns about 600 MW of solar power, mainly coming from BCG Long An 1, BCG Long An 2, BCG Vinh Long, Phu My, and rooftop solar power projects.

These plants, built from 2018-2020, enjoy the 20-year preferential FiTs and bring stable annual revenue to Bamboo Capital. Revenue from the renewable energy segment is expected to continue to grow strongly in the coming years when transitional projects record revenue, rooftop solar power projects are expanded, and 300 MW of wind power in Ca Mau and Tra Vinh are completed.

Under PDP VIII, by 2030, half of office buildings and homes in the country will be powered by rooftop solar panels. Bamboo Capital held that the rooftop solar power segment will have a lot of room and potential for development.

Currently, BCG-SP Greensky Joint Stock Company, a joint venture between BCG Energy with SP Group of Singapore, is developing rooftop solar power systems in export processing zones and industrial parks such as Linh Trung in Ho Chi Minh City and Chan May in Thua Thien-Hue province, and large-scale farms at Vinamilk factories.

Since 2019, Bamboo Capital has successfully raised capital in the international market, typically the successful deals to raise $5 million from Hanwha Energy of South Korea in 2019 and $43.6 million from Cambodia-based Leader Energy in December 2020.

This March, BCG-SP Solar 1 - a subsidiary of BCG-SP Greensky - received a disbursement of $31.5 million from a credit package totaling $50 million from three Singaporean banks -- DBS Bank Limited (DBS), Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB).

In addition to project implementation experience and capacity, the ability to work with reputable international partners and financial institutions to mobilize low-interest capital will be a competitive advantage that enables Bamboo Capital to break through strongly compared to other companies in the same industry.

With PDP VIII in place, transitional projects will go into commercial operation and foreign investors' confidence will rise. Therefore, Bamboo Capital will see more opportunities in mobilizing more international credit.

On the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, BCG shares of Bamboo Capital closed Wednesday at VND9,750 ($0.42), up 6.21% against Tuesday.

Eighty-four solar and wind power projects with a total capacity of more than 4,600 MW missed deadlines for commercial operation. Of these, 34 transitional projects (28 wind and six solar power) with a total capacity of nearly 2,100 MW have been completed and put on trial runs.

These projects will not enjoy FiTs for 20 years as they missed out on the government's power generation deadline and have to negotiate prices with EVN at 20-30% lower than the FiTs.

So far, 59 of them have submitted applications to the EVN for temporary price negotiation, with 43 accepting temporary prices equal to 50% of the ceiling levels set by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, equivalent to VND908 ($3.85) per kWh at maximum.