A consortium led by Danish investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has struck a first agreement with Vietnamese authorities to develop the country’s first, and Asia’s largest offshore wind farm.
CIP, alongside Vietnamese partners Asiapetro and Novasia, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of the Binh Thuan province to set in motion the development of a 3500MW offshore wind project off the coast of the Binh Thuan province, in the southeastern part of the country, the Danish company said in a statement on July 22.
Known as La Gan, the project’s ambitions almost match those of the 3600MW Dogger Bank offshore wind farm co-developed by Norwegian Equinor and British SSE Renewables off the English coast, and labelled by the companies as the “world’s largest” of its kind.
CIP estimates total capital expenditure to reach $10bn and “create significant income and jobs for both Binh Thuan and Vietnam”, the company’s note reads.
“This project could also serve as a precedent for attracting other foreign investors in offshore wind projects in Vietnam.”
The consortium aims to complete the first phase of the project, which will have a capacity of 500MW, by 2024, and add another 3000MW between 2026 and 2030.
It is now awaiting an endorsement by the national government to go ahead with a final investment decision.
“As the MoU is being signed, the project partners are already fully engaged in the project development in close collaboration with the Binh Thuan region and national government authorities, preparing a final investment decision after inclusion of the project into the Power Development Plan of Vietnam,” CIP writes in its note.
Should it go ahead as planned, the La Gan offshore wind farm would stand out as the biggest renewable energy project ever announced by foreign investors in the Asia-Pacific region, according to figures from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets, and would strengthen the momentum gained by the clean energy industry since in the first half of 2020.
(Source: https://www.fdiintelligence.com)
