ADB provide $37-million loan for first large-scale floating solar farm
By Phuong Anh
October 02, 2019 | 01:57 PM GMT+7
The project also marks the largest installation of floating solar PV panels in Southeast Asia.
Floating photovoltaic (PV) solar power facility on Da Mi hydropower plant. Photo: EVN
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $37 million loan agreement with Da Nhim – Ham Thuan – Da Mi Hydro Power Joint Stock Company (DHD) to finance the installation of a 47.5MW peak floating photovoltaic (PV) solar power facility on the man-made reservoir of DHD’s existing 175 MW Da Mi hydropower plant.
The financing package includes a $17.6 million loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources.
This is supplemented by $15 million of blended concessional co-financing provided by the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia and its follow-on fund, the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia II.
The package also includes a $4.4 million parallel loan from the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP), supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency through a $1.5 billion equity commitment.
“This project will help to boost the share of renewable energy in Vietnam’s overall energy mix and decrease the dependence on imported fossil fuels such as coal,” said Christopher Thieme, Deputy director general of ADB private sector operations department.
“The pairing of these two clean energy technologies, hydropower and solar, is a simple but a highly innovative achievement which can be replicated elsewhere in Vietnam and across Asia and Pacific.”
Chairman of the board of DHD Nguyen Trong Oanh stated that: “We are proud to be the first company in Vietnam to construct a floating solar power plant on a hydropower reservoir.”
This project aligns with DHD’s strategy of investing in renewable energy to decrease dependence on fossil fuel, contribute to energy security, mitigate climate change, and promote environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development.
DHD, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Electricity (EVN) Power Generation Corporation 1, currently owns and operates four hydropower plants, including Da Mi (175 MW), Ham Thuan (300 MW), Da Nhim (160 MW), and Song Pha (7.5 MW).
DHD’s total generation capacity is 642.5 MW, about 1.7% of Vietnam’s total generation capacity.
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