Ho Chi Minh CITY, Viet Nam
A Sunny Boost for Viet Nam’s Power
29.8K tons of CO₂ EMISSIONS REDUCED annually
Inhabitants 8.99 million GDP per capita $6,862 Geographic area 2,061 km²
THE CHALLENGE Expanding Viet Nam’s power supply will require significant private sector investment. With limited potential to further develop hydropower and growing public environmental concerns from coal, the development of renewable energy is crucial.
Viet Nam begins its energy transition with a 50 MW solar plant just outside the capital city. One of Viet Nam's first utility-scale solar power plants is located 50 km outside Ho Chi Minh City, the country's most populous city. The plant began operations in mid-2019 and generates roughly 78,000 MWh of clean energy annually. This will meet the needs of an estimated 40,000 households and reduce annual CO₂ emissions by around 29,760 tons starting 2020. Viet Nam seeks to increase the share of renewable energy, including small hydro, solar, wind, and biomass power plants, as a percentage of total forecast installed capacity to 21% by 2030, and to reduce the use of imported coal-fired electricity. To meet this target, installed solar power capacity is expected to increase to 12 GW and wind power to 6 GW by 2030. Rapidly scaling up renewable energy use will also help Viet Nam achieve its target to reduce GHG emissions by 8%–25% by 2030. The $51.5 million project was funded through an ADB loan as well as cofinancing from commercial banks, a non-parallel loan from the ADB-administered Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund, and sponsors' equity.
Co-benefits Economic Electricity supplied to Viet Nam’s power grid will increase the availability and reliability of clean power, thereby increasing industrial and agricultural productivity. Social Adding new, reliable capacity to the power grid will increase access to power in remote areas, promoting socioeconomic development and increasing access to improved infrastructure and services.
22 100 CLIMATE ACTIONS FROM CITIES IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
50 MW solar power plant. The plant is located about 50 km outside of Ho Chi Minh City (photo by TTC Energy Development Investment Joint Stock Company).
