Ninh Thuan, Vietnam—AC Energy Inc., a unit of conglomerate Ayala Corp., plans to build more renewable projects here after recently completing a 330-megawatt solar farm, one of the biggest in Southeast Asia, in partnership with the BIM Group.
The solar farm, comprising of three facilities with installed capacities of 30 MW, 250 MW and 50 MW, respectively, is the first project under BIM/AC Renewables, the renewable energy development platform of AC Energy and the BIM Group.
“Vietnam is one of the Ayala group’s focus in renewable energy investments… We are very excited about Vietnam. We have already invested in the water sector here. This is a very large and meaningful investment for us and we want to continue more investments with the BIM Group particularly in the energy group,” said Ayala president and chief operating officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala.
The BIM/AC Renewables solar farm, which sits on over 300 hectares of land, is one of the largest in Southeast Asia. It is equipped with the latest technology to ensure efficient operations.
It is expected to generate 545 million kWh of renewable energy annually and generate income and jobs for the province of Ninh Thuan.
“I want to mention the importance of local partnerships and how happy we have been, also with BIM Group. There is no way, I think, that a foreign group can come to an area like this and tackle the kind of challenges that you have without a local partner,” said Ayala.
The inauguration and ceremonial switch-on held on April 27 was led by Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Ninth Thuan Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Duc Thanh, Ninh Thuan Chairman of People’s Committee, Luu Xuan Vinh, Ayala and BIM Group chairman Doan Quoc Viet.
“We needed a partner who had a problem-solving mindset… who tried to find solutions in mind and AC was that, we couldn’t find a better partner… We’ve been very happy with them,” said BIM Group deputy chairman Doan Quoc Huy.
Construction of the $294-million solar project, which started in January last year, took 14 months and employed approximately 2,000 workers throughout the construction phase. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. was the sole lender, providing non-recourse project financing of $232 million.