GE Renewable Energy, global wind and solar company Mainstream Renewable Power and local Vietnamese partner the Phu Cuong Group today participated in a ceremony to formalize a US$2bn Joint Development Agreement to develop, build and operate the 800 MW Phu Cuong Wind Farm in the Soc Trang province of Vietnam.
The deal was one of five agreements valued at more than $5 billion that GE (NYSE: GE) announced today to support the development of Vietnam’s energy and aviation sectors during a signing ceremony that was part of Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visit to the United States. Today’s agreement marks the next phase of the collaboration on the project announced in November 2016 that is being developed with local partner Phu Cuong Group. The project is in support of the 1 GW initiative that GE and the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed in May 2016. The Wind Farm is expected to be the largest wind farm in Vietnam and will be completed in two phases with the first phase of approximately 200 MW expected to reach financial close in 2018. GE Renewable Energy has been earmarked as the equipment provider for both phases.
“This is a significant step forward in terms of taking the first phase of this project into construction next year, and in doing so supporting Vietnam in its aim of delivering one gigawatt of renewable energy by 2020. Today’s agreement is central to Mainstream’s strategic focus of bringing large-scale, low-cost renewable energy to high-growth markets across Asia, Africa as well as South and Central America. We look forward to working closely with our partners in bringing this project to fruition.” said Mainstream’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Kinsella. This agreement in Vietnam marks Mainstream’s first large scale investments in Asia, following the establishment of gigawatt-scale portfolios in South America and Africa.
Deputy GM for the Phu Cuong Group, Ph?m Qu?c Anh said : “Producing electricity from wind energy is a new market in Vietnam. As one of the pioneers, Phu Cuong Group wants to work with strong partners with capacity to ensure the quality of the project. GE and Mainstream are the best partners in this area. We are confident that this collaboration will bring success to the project, contributing to the development of green power to the people of Vietnam.”
Wouter Van Wersch, President and CEO of GE ASEAN said, “This next step in the project further strengthens the collaboration between our three companies and reinforces our shared commitment to using technology innovation to support Vietnam’s renewable energy goals. We look forward to developing more wind power projects in accordance with the 1 GW initiative signed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade last year.”
GE Renewable Energy has deep roots in Vietnam. The company’s manufacturing plant in the seaport city of Haiphong, which employs 500 workers, can produce multiple products including the 1.X Wind Turbine Generator and 2.X Wind Turbine Generator to electrical control systems components as well as fabrication components. Vietnam has established a goal of producing more than 10 percent of its power from Renewable Energy by 2030.
Mainstream Renewable Power is the leading independent developer of utility-scale wind and solar power plants in high-growth emerging markets. It has a project development portfolio of 8.5GW across Africa, South and Central America and is focused on a number of markets in Asia including Vietnam and the Philippines. Mainstream is a market leader in South Africa and Chile where is has successfully won competitive tenders for approximately 2GW of wind and solar projects. The company has raised more than €1.3bn in project finance to date and employs 160 staff across five continents.
GE Renewable Energy is a $10 billion start-up that brings together one of the broadest product and service portfolios of the renewable energy industry. Combining onshore and offshore wind, hydro and innovative technologies such as concentrated solar power and more recently turbine blades, GE Renewable Energy has installed more than 400+ gigawatts capacity globally to make the world work better and cleaner. With more than 22,000 employees present in more than 55 countries, GE Renewable Energy is backed by the resources of the world’s first digital industrial company. Our goal is to demonstrate to the rest of the world that nobody should ever have to choose between affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
