Mainstream Renewable Power has signed a joint development agreement with Vietnamese company Advance Information Technologies Corporation (AIT), to co-develop a 500MW offshore wind project in Ben Tre province, Vietnam.
The project received the requisite site survey license earlier this year. Since then, it has completed a feasibility study and then submitted a Power Development Plan (PDP) application to Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade with a view to the project being included in the Vietnam Government’s forthcoming national PDP period 2021-2030 with vision to 2045 (PDP 8).
The project is expected to reach Financial Close and start construction by 2023/24, and reach commercial operation by 2025/26.
Ram Natarajan, Mainstream CEO Asia Pacific, said: "Mainstream recognizes the great potential of offshore wind in Vietnam, as well as the ambition of the Vietnamese Government to develop a sustainable green economy.
"Mainstream is delighted to be working with a strong and reliable partner in AIT to develop the Ben Tre project to the best international standards, supplying much needed renewable energy capacity to the country’s fast-growing economy.
"The JV has the potential to expand and will also look to develop further wind and solar projects in Vietnam in the near future."
Apart from the Ben Tre project, Mainstream in 2017 partnered with PCG to deliver the 1,400 MW Phu Cuong Soc Trang project in the Soc Trang province, off Vietnam.
This project will be developed in two phases - Phase 1 - 400 MW and Phase 2, 1,000 MW. Once fully operational, the project will power over 995,000 homes and avoid around 1,220,000 tCO2e each year.
Phase 1, 400 MW, is at late-stage development. It is estimated Phase 1 will comprise between 28 and 36 turbines, with the distance of turbines to shore estimated at 4 km. Phase 1 will enter construction in 2021 with a commercial operation date in 2023.