SK Ecoplant builds rooftop solar panels in Samil Vina, Vietnam

SK Ecoplant Co., a South Korean structural engineering and waste management company, said Tuesday it has completed construction of rooftop solar panels at the Samil Vina Co. plant. in Vietnam.

The electricity generated by the 1 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic modules will be 100% consumed by the textile factory located in Dong Nai, a province northeast of Ho Chi Minh City.

SK Ecoplant stated that rooftop solar panels are economical because such modules do not require the construction of an additional power grid. It was found that the roof method also minimizes energy losses during the transmission and distribution process.

SK also said it expects the solar energy modules to help Samil Vina’s business overall, as such a facility will allow the Vietnamese company to meet renewable energy requirements in the country.

SK Ecoplant, formerly SK Engineering & Construction Co., is actively expanding its rooftop solar module installation business in the Southeast Asian country.

In addition to the Samil Vina project, SK is implementing rooftop solar projects with a total capacity of 7 MW in Binh Duong and Hai Pong.

SK RENEWABLE ENERGY PUBLICATION IN VIETNAM

Vietnam is a developing country where energy demand is increasing by 10% annually. This Southeast Asian country is investing heavily in its renewable energy sector to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.

Industry officials said solar power generation projects in Vietnam have great potential given the abundance of sunlight in the country. The country also has many islands where the average annual wind speed exceeds 5 meters per second, which creates favorable conditions for generating wind energy.

Vietnam’s renewable energy generation capacity has more than quadrupled to 21.6 gigawatts (GW) in 2023 from 5.2 GW in 2019, according to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

SK Ecoplant has been striving to transform from a construction company into an ecological energy company for years.

In March, the Korean company signed an agreement with BCG Energy (BCGE), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vietnamese capital group Bamboo, to jointly develop solar and wind energy projects in Vietnam.

Under the agreement, SK and BCGE will jointly develop 700 MW of renewable energy projects in Vietnam, including 300 MW of onshore wind, 300 MW of rooftop solar and 100 MW of onshore solar.

SK, BCGE, SLC SIGNED MOU ON GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION PROJECT

BCGE is an established local developer involved in both wind and solar projects. In Vietnam, it already operates a solar power plant with a capacity of approximately 600 MW. BCGE’s current wind energy generation projects exceed 800 MW.

On Tuesday, SK Ecoplant separately signed a memorandum of understanding with BCGE and Korea’s Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corp. (SLC) in Ho Chi Minh City to jointly implement a greenhouse gas reduction project in Vietnam.

SK is strengthening its presence in the environmentally friendly industry by participating in emission rights projects in Vietnam and around the world.

“Vietnam is an ideal country for us. It needs stable power supply for economic growth. The country must also join the global initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Kim Jung-hoon, head of the solutions business unit at SK Ecoplant.

write to Jeong-Jin Eun at [email protected]
In-Soo Nam edited this article.