HCM CITY — A Taiwanese company, one of the world’s largest footwear manufacturers, has announced it is installing rooftop solar systems at its plants in Viet Nam to ensure it uses 100 per cent renewable energy.

A rooftop solar system in a footwear manufacturer in Vinh Long Province.

At the end of last year it began operating a rooftop solar system at its factory in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

With a capacity of 37.6 MWP, it is the largest system of its kind installed anywhere in the world.

It was built with high-quality components such as ABB (Fimer) inverters, JJ-lapp Solar Cable (Germany), Schletter (Germany) mounting structures and tier-1 solar PV modules.

The quality assurance work is supported by RINA from its regional office in Singapore to benchmark the portfolio with international best practices.

To instal the system, the company chose a Vietnamese company from among 13 global contractors from Europe, Asia, the US, and Australia in August 2020 following a rigorous selection process.

The system is able to offset 1,187 tonnes of CO2 over a span of 25 years, which is equivalent to planting approximately 152,000 hectares of trees. It also reduces the temperature in the factory below by around 2.7 per cent.

The investment in the rooftop solar system shows the company’s efforts to create a better working environment for its more than 50,000 employees and further enhance its leadership in the footwear industry.

It attributed its choice to the Vietnamese developer’s rich experience, strong capacity and appreciation of the legal and financing challenges, which has enabled it to successfully instal rooftop solar systems in Viet Nam. 

Further co-operation

After the successful installation of the Vinh Long solar rooftop plant, the Taiwanese company said there would be more projects targeting sustainable development.

The two companies plan to bring innovations and social responsibility to Viet Nam including 100 per cent use of renewable energy. They will provide the footwear producer’s 50,000 workers in Vinh Long with electric motorbikes.

The two companies will also collaborate to build affordable commercial houses for workers in Vinh Long.

The project will see the construction of 50,000 French-standard houses, including around 20,000 in the first phase beginning in July this year.

The housing project will include a number of amenities like parks and modern infrastructure. Notably, renewable energy will be used there, and wastes will be fully recycled.

The tie-up between the two companies will benefit not only the footwear producer’s workers but also others in the local area since Vinh Long is home to many industrial parks with a huge workforce, which has a high demand for housing.