800MW Phu Cuong Project Formalized
Seven months after it was first proposed the massive 800 megawatt Vietnamese Phu Cuong Wind Farm has been officially formalized under a $2 billion Joint Development Agreement between GE Renewable Energy, Mainstream Renewable Power, and local Vietnamese partner, the Phu Cuong Group.
GE Renewable Energy announced on the last day of May that it had signed a formal $2 billion Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between alongside global wind and solar company, Mainstream Renewable Power, and local Vietnamese partner, the Phu Cuong Group, to develop the 800 megawatt (MW) Phu Cuong Wind Farm. Originally announced back in November of last year, the Phu Cuong Wind Farm was part of three separate wind farms that Mainstream Renewable Power will develop in Vietnam, for a cumulative total of 940 MW.
The signing of the JDA is the next phase in moving the project forward and is part of the larger 1 gigawatt initiative that GE and the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade signed back in May of 2016. Unsurprisingly, the proposed 800 MW behemoth is expected to be the biggest wind farm in Vietnam, and will be constructed across two separate stages — a 200 MW first phase is expected to reach financial close sometime next year. It is also likely that at least a portion of the technology for the project will be manufactured in Vietnam at GE Renewable Energy’s manufacturing plant in the Vietnamese city of Haiphong. Meanwhile, this will be the first large-scale investment for Mainstream Renewable Power in Asia.
“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,” said Mainstream’s Chief Operating Officer Andy Kinsella. “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.”
“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,” added Wouter Van Wersch, President and CEO of GE ASEAN. “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.”
The Phu Cuong Group appears to be a seafood services and real estate company (one hell of a combination), so this will be an interesting expansion for the company.
“Producing electricity from wind energy is a new market in Vietnam,” explained Deputy GM for the Phu Cuong Group, Phạm Quốc Anh. “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.”
