Vung Ang II thermal power plant set to enter operation in 2025

The Vung Ang II thermal power plant is set to begin commercial operation of its first turbine in July 2025 and then its second in November 2025, its investor said.

Vung Ang II Thermal Power LLC (VAPCO) made the statement at a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with PV Power late last week on construction, operation, maintenance, and repair of Vung Ang I and Vung Ang II thermal power plants.

The 1,200-megawatt Vung Ang II thermal power plant has an investment of $2.2 billion per build-operate-transfer (BOT) format.

The factory, located in the central province of Ha Tinh's Vung Ang Economic Zone, is expected to use supercritical technology and import coal from Australia and Indonesia for operation. Supercritical technology requires less coal per megawatt-hour, leading to lower emissions.

PV Power, listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as POW, is the second biggest power producer in Vietnam, with seven power plants and many renewable energy projects totaling 4,200 MW.

The subsidiary of state-run Petrovietnam is also the operator of the 1,200-MW Vung Ang I thermal power plant, also in Ha Tinh province.

Vung Ang 1, currently the biggest thermal power plant in central Vietnam, had an initial investment capital of VND22.25 trillion ($976.8 million), which was raised to VND33.57 trillion ($1.47 billion) by April 2016. It entered operation in December 2014.

The plant generated 538.6 million kWh and consumed 243,000 tons of coal in the first two months of this year, reaping a revenue of VND1,041 billion ($44.01 million), according to PV Power.

Thermal power remained the biggest power source in Vietnam in the first two months of this year, with 16.47 billion kWh, or 42.7% of a total of 38.61 billion kWh, according to state utility Vietnam Electricity.

Other key sources were hydropower with 10.57 billion kWh, or 27.4% of the total; gas-fired electricity with 4.32 billion kWh, or 11.2%; renewable energy (solar and wind power) with 6.45 billion kWh, or 16.7%; and imported electricity with 735 million kWh, or 1.9%.