Japanese natural gas suppliers Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. and Sojitz Corporation have launched a joint venture (JV) with another Japanese solar power company Loop Inc., to target the commercial and industrial (C&I) rooftop solar market of Vietnam.
While Loop will own 30% stake in the JV called SOL Energy Company Limited, 70% stakeholder will be Sojitz Osaka Gas Energy Company Ltd. (SOGEC). The latter is a JV between Osaka Gas and Sojitz Corporation.
The new company, SOL Energy, is mandated to install rooftop solar systems with over 10 MW capacity for Sojitz operated Long Duc Industrial Park customers in Dong Nai province of Vietnam. Post installation, SOL Energy will supply end users with solar power on long term basis, while selling excess energy generated to the industrial park's operating companies.
While the idea is to enable decarbonization of Long Duc Industrial Park, SOL Energy plans to expand the solar business to elsewhere in Vietnam.
Half of the initial investment costs for SOL Energy will be covered by the Ministry of Environment in Japan under its Joint Credit Mechanism (JCM) Model Projects program for FY2021. Through this program, the Japanese government supports projects that deploy decarbonizing technologies in developing nations to bring down GHG emissions. In return Japan gets to 'acquire JCM credits for achievements of Japan's GHG emission reduction and partner countries' emission reduction target'.
In this case, Vietnam aims to achieve 27% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 to be realized with international support, added the JV partners.
In recent times, some other big names have also entered the Vietnamese solar market including Irish developer Mainstream Renewable Power and Portugal's EDP Renewables (see Mainstream Renewable Power Gets Serious About Vietnam).
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