Pacifico Energy

Image: Picture of Mui Ne Solar Plant. Photo courtesy of Business Wire.

Tokyo, Japan-based renewable energy developer Pacifico Energy has inaugurated the 40MW Mui Ne solar power Plant in Phan Thiet city, Binh Thuan province in Vietnam.

Construction work began at the plant last October, on 38 hectares of land and with the construction now complete, the solar plant will generate about 68 million kWh of clean energy annually. The solar plant can help in offsetting 55,447 tons of CO2 emissions per year.

Electricity generated from the solar plant will be bought for a 20-year period at $9.35kWh by Vietnam Electricity Corporation, as per Decision 11 made by the Vietnam Prime Minister in 2017.

Pacifico Energy will provide long-term asset management services for the facility

Dragon Capital Group, an asset manager with $36m (£28.2m) under management, is the partner for Pacifico Energy Vietnam in the project. Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) is providing long term project financing and Pacifico Energy will provide long-term asset management services.

Pacifico Energy chairman Nate Franklin said: “We are proud to be one of the first international developers to complete a renewable energy power plant in Vietnam and meet the needs of its people and growing economy for clean energy.

“At this time Vietnam is a very vibrant and exciting place to be and we hope to continue developing clean renewable energy for the further growth of this county.”

For this project, TTCL Vietnam (TVC) was the engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor.

US Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Mary Tarnowka said: “The United States is a leader in clean energy technologies‎. Pacifico Energy’s partnership in the Mui Ne Solar Power Plant promotes Vietnam’s energy security and supports sustainable growth in the beautiful Binh Thuan province.”

In April, the company began construction of the 102MW solar project located in Ako, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. This plant will be built on a golf-course in Ako-gun and the operations are expected to begin in the Spring of 2021.

Once operational, the plant will be able to generate about 125 million kWh of clean electricity annually. Electricity from the plant will be purchased by Kansai Electric Power for a 20 year period.