According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, from mid-2018 to the present, a series of solar power projects have been started and are joining the national grid, providing about 2,200 MWp of clean electricity, in 2019. Ninh Thuan province alone contributes about half of the capacity, with 10 plants that have been started and put into operation.
In April 2019, BIM Group officially inaugurated a cluster of 3 solar power plants with a total capacity of 330 MW and connected to the national grid.
The project is invested by BIM Group and AC Energy – a member of the Ayala Group (Philippines) and Bouygues Energies & Services (France) is the main contractor. With an investment of more than VND 7,000 billion, the three BIM1, BIM2, and BIM 3 plants are expected to generate electricity of about 600 million kWh / year, serving 200,000 households per year, becoming the largest cluster of solar power plants in Southeast Asia as of the present time.
BIM Group is a large multidisciplinary economic group in Vietnam with a history of 25 years. BIM's 4 main business areas are Tourism Development & Real Estate Investment, Agriculture - Food, Commercial Services, and Renewable Energy. Also, Bim Group is famous for "acquiring" many great real estate projects in Phu Quoc with a total area of 155.3ha and many projects being implemented in Quang Ninh.
Nhi Ha Solar Power Plant project is invested, managed and operated by Solar Power Ninh Thuan Company Limited (directly under Bitexco Power) approved by the Prime Minister and the Provincial People's Committee (April 2018) with a total investment of VND 1,113 billion.
After 14 months from the approval of the investment policy, the construction of the plant was completed with 25,240 pile foundations, 1,262 truss frames, and 151,440 panels after 102 days and nights. The first commercial electricity of the Nhi Ha Solar Power Plant (Phase 1) officially joined the national electricity grid.
When coming into operation, the plant provides an average annual output of 80 million kWh, providing electricity demand for about 22,000 households; At the same time, it contributes to the power supply for economic development and national energy security.
For many years, Bitexco has been considered an "underground giant" in the field of energy. This is the leading private corporation in the field of energy in Vietnam as it owns more than 20 hydroelectric plants from the North to the South, holding 15% of the shares in the Ca Tam oil field.
Many projects with small capacity in many provinces and cities are in the hands of the Thanh Thanh Cong Group.
Last June, Thanh Cong Group (TTC) and Gulf Energy Group (Thailand) held the inauguration ceremony of TTC Solar Power Plant No. 01 and TTC No. 02 in Thanh Thanh Cong Industrial Park, Trang Bang district, Tay Ninh province.
Earlier, in October 2018, Phong Dien - Thua Thien Hue solar power plant of Dien Gia Lai (Thanh Thanh Cong) officially joined the national grid and this is the first solar power plant in Vietnam to be energized.
It can be said that Thanh Thanh Cong is one of the Vietnamese companies that got into the field of renewable energy earliest in Vietnam with an estimated investment capital of US $ 1 billion. Unlike many other investors, Thanh Thanh Cong mainly works on projects with small capacity in many provinces.
Besides, several other natural economic groups have quickly jumped into the field of solar power such as Bamboo Capital Group, Trung Nam Group, etc. Many experts believe that the mass development of solar power and wind power has positive aspects, increasing the proportion of exploiting renewable energy sources, reducing generating direct sources of pollution, etc.
However, the downside is that there are too many solar power projects developing at the same time in the area when connecting to existing lines, leading to the possibility of investing more in transmission grids, transformer stations, etc. With high investment rates, costs will be included in the electricity price structure. Therefore, it is not excluded that the higher the proportion of renewable energy, the higher the electricity price people have to pay.