NINH THUẬN — Construction of the Gelex Ninh Thuận solar farm project, which has a capacity of 50MWp, began on Monday.

The project is located in Phước Dinh Commune of Thuận Nam District in the south-central province of Ninh Thuận. 

With an investment of VNĐ1.3 trillion (US$56.9 million), the project covers an area of 70ha and includes an installation area for solar panels and inverter stations, besides other auxiliary facilities. A 22kV/110kV electrical substation and 110kV double-junction line are connected to the existing 110kV transmission line of the Ninh Thuận 1 plant. 

Construction is expected to be completed in June 2019, with a capacity of 82 million kWh per year. 

The project is one of the 18 projects with investment planning approved by the Ninh Thuận Province’s People’s Committee last November. 

Addressing an event to mark the start of the construction, Lưu Xuân Vĩnh, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said renewable energy was the top priority in the province’s economic development orientation, adding that Ninh Thuận always encouraged and created the best possible conditions to support investors. 

The province has 15 wind power projects and 27 solar power projects, with designed capacities of nearly 800MW and more than 1,808MW, respectively. 

The Prime Minister and the Ministry of Industry and Trade had agreed to include these projects into the national power development scheme. 

Ninh Thuận is a typically hot and dry area in the south-central part of Việt Nam. It is less affected by storms than other areas in the country and has emerged as the renewable energy centre in Việt Nam. 

 It holds good solar energy potential, with an average of 2,600-2,800 sunshine hours per year. 

The province is finalising a master plan for solar energy from 2016 to 2020 with a vision to 2030, which aims to generate some 2,000MW of electricity by 2020. — VNS