Sembcorp eyes floating solar farm expansion in Vietnam

Asian energy and urban development major Sembcorp Industries is looking for more opportunities to build floating solar systems in Vietnam, which seeks carbon neutrality by 2050.

The move follows several partnerships the Singapore-based multinational inked in February this year to develop a range of energy and urban solutions that will support Vietnam’s transition to cleaner energy and sustainable development.

Hong Howe Yong, head of the Centre of Excellence, Sembcorp Industries, on Wednesday paid a working visit to the Ka Nak hydropower plant in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai to gauge possibilities to build a floating solar farm here.

Executives of Vietnam Electricity’s Power Generation 2 JSC (EVNGENCO2), which operates Ka Nak, discussed the possibilities with Yong and his delegation.

Sembcorp and EVNGENCO2 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) last July to embark on a partnership in renewable energy development in Vietnam.

As part of the Singaporean group’s strategy to transform its portfolio from brown to green, Sembcorp is scaling up its investment in renewables across Vietnam.

Early this year, Sembcorp signed an MoU with Vietnamese firm KN Energy Group to develop renewable energy projects in the country. Under this collaboration, they are developing a 500 megawatt-peak floating solar farm, also in Gia Lai province.

Last December, Sembcorp signed a collaborative agreement with BCG Energy of Vietnamese conglomerate Bamboo Capital Group to jointly identify and develop a pipeline of up to 1.5 gigawatts of wind and solar projects in Vietnam.