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AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners

commits to 3.5GW wind farm in Vietnam

VIETNAM COPENHAGEN Infrastructure Partners (CIP) renewables in order to lessen its reliance on
has confirmed plans to build the 3.5GW La Gan dwindling domestic gas production, imported
offshore wind farm in Vietnam at a cost of $10bn. LNG and coal.
The investor has signed a memorandum of “The signing of the MoU on development of
understanding (MoU) with Binh Thuan People’s the La Gan offshore wind project between CIP,
Committee to build what is the country’s largest Asiapetro, Novasia and Binh Thuan Province
offshore project, which could turn the country today is an important milestone, and it would
into a major regional offshore leader. not be possible without the strong and valuable
CIP signed the deal, which involves its part- support and co-operation from the local author-
ners CI New Markets Fund I, Asiapetro and ities and partners. CIP is a pioneer in the offshore
Novasia, with the Vietnamese authorities at the wind industry across Asia-Pacific with projects
Vietnam Energy Summit 2020. in Vietnam, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Australia,”
“Findings from the co-operation between said CIP partner Michael Hannibal.
the Danish Energy Agency and the Vietnamese Now that the MoU has been signed, the next
Electricity and Renewable Energy Authority stage in the approvals process is to work with the
emphasise that Vietnam has a technical potential authorities in Binh Thuan region and the Viet-
of 160GW offshore wind, which puts Vietnam namese government to prepare a final invest-
at the forefront of [the] most coveted prospec- ment decision (FID). The project also needs to
tive offshore wind markets,” said the Ambas- be included in the Power Development Plan of
sador of Denmark in Vietnam, Kim Højlund Vietnam.
Christensen. In June, CIP raised DKK11bn ($1.7bn) in
With an estimated capex of $10bn, the project commitments for its new Copenhagen Infra-
is expected to create significant income and jobs structure IV fund, which is expected to make a
for both Binh Thuan and Vietnam. capital commitment of 6-7.5bn and could invest
The project could also pave the way for more up to $15bn in renewables project worldwide.
foreign investment in Vietnam. CIP is already CIP’s seven funds, which have $10bn under
active in Taiwan, where the wind sector is more management, have currently made more than
advanced. 20 investments in energy assets totalling almost
CIP is developing the Changfang and Xidao 8GW in the US, the UK, Germany, Spain and
wind farms in Taiwan, which represent 600MW Taiwan.
of capacity, and aims to open them in 2024. The In addition, more than 15 greenfield energy
Changfang and Xidao projects are a key part infrastructure projects are in process to reach
of the Taiwanese government’s plans to build FID and start of construction within the next
5.5GW of offshore capacity, with another 10GW 2-3 years.
to made available during its next licensing round. In total, CIP plans to support energy infra-
Nevertheless, with 160GW of offshore poten- structure projects worldwide worth $100bn.™
tial, Vietnam is eager to catch up and to develop

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 30 29•July•2020