Long An inaugurates VND1 trillion solar power plant

The BCG-CME Long An 1 solar plant was inaugurated in Thanh An commune, Thanh Hoa district, Long An province on June 23, in the presence of former Politburo member and State President Truong Tan Sang.

Former State President Truong Tan Sang (far left) joins delegates at the inauguration ceremony for the BCG-CME Long An 1 solar plant.
Former State President Truong Tan Sang (far left) joins delegates at the inauguration ceremony for the BCG-CME Long An 1 solar plant.

The plant is a joint facility invested with over VND 1 trillion (US$43.2 million) by Bamboo Capital Group (BCG), Copper Mountain Energy (CME) and Vietnam-Oman Investment Fund (VOI).

It is one of the first solar power plants inaugurated in the Mekong Delta province and integrated into the national electricity grid. The BCG-CME Long An 1 plant covers an area of 50.2 ha, with an installed capacity of 40.6MWp.

Construction for the project began in September 2018, with over 123,000 solar panels having been installed, which are expected to generate an output of 57 million kWh of electricity per year, nearly equal to the annual electricity consumption of 22,000 households and estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by about 16,000 tonnes a year.

Advisor to the Omani Ministry of Finance cum Chairman of the VOI Advisory Council, Abdulmalik-Abdullah Zahir Al Hinai, speaks at the inauguration.

Speaking at the inauguration on behalf of the investors, Advisor to the Omani Ministry of Finance cum Chairman of the VOI Advisory Council, Abdulmalik-Abdullah Zahir Al Hinai, affirmed that with experience and commitment in addressing climate change issues and supporting the transition to a greener economy, Oman through the VOI would work closely with Vietnam in lowering the dependency on fossil fuels and increasing the output share of renewable energy in the coming years.

VOI praised Vietnam’s efforts in promoting renewable energy production, especially from wind and solar sources. The increasingly reduced cost of renewable energy would contribute to accelerating Vietnam's efforts in low carbon energy development.

In addition to providing a stable electricity supply to the national grid and ensuring local socio-economic development, the project also includes the construction of a 110kV substation for Thanh Hoa district, an internal traffic system, a pumping station system for local reservoirs and a 9km long transmission line.

Former President Truong Tan Sang (R) presented 100 scholarships to local disadvantaged students in Thanh Hoa district.

On the occasion, former President Truong Tan Sang presented 100 scholarships worth VND100 million to local disadvantaged students in Thanh Hoa district.

Earlier on June 22 afternoon, Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh visited the BCG-CME Long An 1 solar power plant, in which he highly praised efforts by the concerned parties in bringing the solar power plant to life. On the occasion, he awarded 200 scholarships to Thanh Hoa students.

Politburo member and Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh speaks during his visit to the BCG-CME Long An 1 solar power plant.

CME is an investment company specialising in the field of renewable energy. BCG-CME 1 (40MW) and BCG-CME 2 (100MW) solar power plants in Long An are among CME's first joint venture projects with BCG and VOI. CME is currently deploying other renewable energy projects, including wind power, solar power and roof solar power projects implemented on industrial and residential scales in Vietnam’s southern key economic region.