Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company and Hitachi SE signa strategic cooperation agreement in HCM City yesterday. — Photo courtesy of Trung Nam Group

Hitachi SE's renewable energy business expanded its market to Viet Nam by signing a strategic co-operation agreement with Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company of Trung Nam Group (TNG) in HCM City yesterday.

The event also marked a new step for TNG in attracting foreign investors to the firm's renewable energy projects.

Currently, Trung Nam Wind Power Joint Stock Company is operating a 151.95 MW wind farm in Ninh Thuan Province worth VND4 trillion (US$172.4 million), with an estimated output of 432,000,000 kWh per year.

After the deal, Hitachi SE will own a 35.1 per cent stake in the wind farm.

According to the representatives, Hitachi highly valued the quality of the wind farm as well as its long-term and effective development in the future.

The co-operation will give TNG additional funds from partners and increase its capital to continue implementing renewable energy projects.

Besides the wind farm, TNG also runs two solar power projects in Ninh Thuan and Tra Vinh provinces with a total capacity of more than 360MW. Last year, the group became the first private investor in Viet Nam to build and put a 500kV substation and 220/500kV transmission line combined with the 450 MW Trung Nam Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant into operation.

The group is working on other projects in Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Tra Vinh and Ninh Thuan, aiming to connect 10GW to the national grid by 2027.

National energy demand grows at a rate of 9-10 per cent annually, so Viet Nam is implementing many policies to encourage the development of renewable energy projects, not only to meet rising energy demand but also to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Viet Nam has set a target of producing 11.8GW of electricity from wind power by 2030.

Hitachi SE, along with its member companies, operates 30 wind power companies with a total installed capacity of 248MW in Japan. VNS