Ninh Thuan Solar Power

Vietnam’s energy sector is facing a complex set of challenges, primarily driven by its rapidly growing economy and the need to transition to a more sustainable energy mix. According to the government’s Power Development Plan 8 (PDP8), Vietnam will need approximately USD135 billion to increase its electricity generation capacity by 2030. Solar energy is now an important component of the country’s strategy to address this gap. However, it was considered ‘unbankable’ in 2018, when PIDG first invested in a utility-scale solar farm through InfraCo, its project development solution. Getting private sector investment into the sector was challenging due to several factors, including the requirement for local rather than international arbitration, risk of the contract being cancelled with only 12 months of revenues payable as compensation and overall, an insufficient protection from curtailment. 

The Ninh Thuan Solar Power is a 168-megawatt peak (MWp) utility-scale solar farm located in the Ninh Thuan province of Viet Nam, developed by a joint venture between Sunseap International (now EDPR Sunseap) and PIDG (through InfraCo). Sunseap was a Singapore-based clean energy solutions company that developed, built, financed, owned and operated solar projects in the Southeast Asian and Pacific regions. 

Power generated from the project is sold to EVN, the national utility company, through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) that provides a Feed-in-tariff (FIT) in Vietnamese Dong equivalent to US 9.35 cents / kWh. The project was initially scheduled to complete construction by Q4 2019, but instead achieved an early COD on 15 June 2019. InfraCo fully divested its direct interest in the Project on 31 March 2020, and its residual interest in October 2021.