US utility AES eyes partnerships with PV Gas, EVN on clean energy supply

Virginia-based AES Corporation plans to work with Vietnamese utilities like PV Gas and Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to optimize clean energy supply for industrial projects in the country, a senior executive said Wednesday.

This would help improve and ensure reliable energy supply in Vietnam, AES executive vice president Juan Ignacio Rubiolo told Party General Secretary and State President To Lam at a meeting in New York.

Lam is on a working visit to attend the United Nations Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) in the U.S. He left New York Wednesday for a state visit to Cuba after a meeting with President Joe Biden.

Ignacio noted that AES had invested in several projects in Vietnam over the past 15 years. He affirmed the corporation’s commitment to a long-term presence in Vietnam and to supporting the country in energy transition and green energy development.

Lam said Vietnam was committed to supporting foreign investors, especially those involved with clean energy transition.

He said Vietnam was working out measures to balance bilateral trade, toward which it supported increasing imports from the U.S., according priority to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

Lam encouraged AES to pursue its investment plans, noting that its proposed projects have been included in Vietnam’s national power development plan.

Meeting the same day with Nate Franklin, founder and chairman of Pacifico Energy Group, Lam called on the company to accelerate work on existing projects and make new investments in Vietnam’s energy transition process.

This would contribute to Vietnam’s commitment of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, he said.

Lam reiterated that Vietnam was committed to facilitating investments and operations of U.S. investors in general and Pacifico in particular.

Franklin said the group has been present in Vietnam since 2017 and was the first renewable energy firm to complete wind and solar power projects in the country.

The executive said he recognized Vietnam’s energy demand and pledged to coordinate efforts with partners to implement its projects in Vietnam effectively.

He believed that Vietnam can meet its offshore wind power target set for 2030, given high potential in the sector.

Vietnam’s power development plan VIII (PDP VIII) targets 6 GW offshore wind power generation capacity by 2030 and 70-91 GW by 2050. There is no operational offshore wind power project in the country at present.