ACEN Corp. said Tuesday subsidiary ACEN Renewables International Pte. Ltd. and its partners secured financing to develop the $1-billion Monsoon Wind Power Co. Ltd.’s 600-megawatt wind project in Lao PDR.
This is the first wind power project in Lao PDR and the first cross-border wind project in Southeast Asia.
Monsoon Wind is also touted to be the largest renewable energy platform for regional connectivity and decarbonization in the region.
ACEN said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Monsoon Wind would construct, own and operate a 600-MW wind power plant and its 500-kV transmission line in Sekong and Attapeu provinces in southeastern part of Lao PDR.
The project is a partnership among ACEN, BCPG Public Company Ltd., Impact Electrons Siam Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp. and SMP Consultation and STP&I Public Co. Ltd.
ACEN will have a 24-percent economic stake in the project.
“Vietnam has significantly scaled up solar and wind over the last few years which made it an ideal place for sustainable investments. Power demand in the country is recovering strong post-COVID, and the MOU between Laos and Vietnam unlocks a new avenue of providing more power to Vietnam while serving as a catalyst for more cross-border power sharing in the region,” ACEN International chief executive Patrice Clause said. Alena Mae S. Flores
“We are happy to be working with our partners for the Monsoon Wind project, and deliver the first cross-border wind project and largest renewable energy platform in Southeast Asia,” he said.
Electricity generated will be sold to Vietnam Electricity through the 500-kV transmission line under the 25-year power purchase agreement.
The project was co-financed by the Asian Development Bank as lead arranger which provided $692.55 million and other banks such as Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Japan International Corporation Agency, the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Hong Kong Mortgage Corp. Limited, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank.
ACEN said the Monsoon Wind is one of the key projects in the Vietnamese government’s electricity development plan.
It is expected to alleviate the electricity supply-demand challenges in Vietnam while pursuing their decarbonization goal.
The project will help strengthen the connectivity in the ASEAN region through the provision of cross-border electricity sales.
The Lao government will generate revenues from royalty fees and other sources based on the concession agreement. The project will start commercial operations before the end of 2025.
ACEN said it is making Vietnam its priority market due to its attractive tariff system for renewable energy. ACEN has been building solar and wind projects in Vietnam since 2017 and owns a total of 637 MW of attributable capacity.
