$2.8-bln thermal power plant completed in central Vietnam

With a total investment of nearly US$2.8 billion, it is the second biggest foreign project in the central province behind the $9-billion Nghi Son Oil Refinery.

It is owned by the Korea Electric Power Corporation and Japan’s Marubeni Corporation and Tohuku Electric Power Corporation.

It will be operated by these companies for 25 years before being taken over by national utility Vietnam Electricity.

Its first turbine began operation in January and the second in July.

Hirohide Sagara, chairman and CEO of Nghi Son 2, said it is one of the few power plants in Vietnam to use advanced ultra-supercritical technology, which requires less coal and produces lower emissions than traditional plants.

Coal-fired plants account for around 44% of Vietnam’s power production followed by hydropower (28%) and solar (14.8%).

The country wants to reduce the use of coal and increase renewable energy to achieve its net-zero emission target by 2050.