Planning for a project to make Can Gio Biosphere Reserve the largest wind power center in the southern region is being completed in order to be submitted to the city People’s Committee in Ho Chi Minh City for approval.
The 200MW project, with an estimated capital of VND10 trillion (US$480.8 million), fits into the city’s policy and plan to develop renewable energy.
Investor Cong Ly Construction-Trade-Tourism Company, based in the southern tip province of Ca Mau, said that 125 wind turbines will be installed along a 10 km section of coastline in Can Gio District.
The project will stretch over 2,000 hectares of land area and officially generate power after four years.
To Hoai Dan, director general of the company, says that the average wind speed in Can Gio reaches 6.5-7m per second, an ideal condition for wind power development. The district has planned an electricity transmission network which will connect the wind power center with the national electricity grid.
According to the city’s plan for 2015, renewable energy will account for 4-5 percent, or about 200MW, of power supply sources, said Pham Quoc Bao, deputy director general of HCMC Electricity Corporation.
HCMC now has only two sources of renewable energy, the Go Cat waste dump in Binh Tan District and the solar panels installed in Thanh An Commune of Can Gio, which can generate a total power output of 2.1MW.
The city is expected to build a 12MW plant in the Da Phuoc waste dump in Binh Chanh District and a 7MW facility at the Dong Thanh dump site in Hoc Mon District.
The total renewable energy output from the above sources and projects makes up only 25 percent of the plan. As a result, the wind power project of Cong Ly is crucial for the plan.
Phan Minh Tan, director of the Department of Sciences and Technology, said that the investor should resurvey the impact of the project on the environment, tourism, and other projects.
Earlier, the city’s People Committee had approved a 600 hectare sea-encroaching town project of the SaigonTourist Holding Company in Can Gio. The Can Gio Mangrove Forest is an important protective forest in HCMC and provides a numerous kinds of seafood, including clams.
According to statistics of the district People’s Committee, most clam farming areas are located along the coast where the wind power project will be implemented.
Le Manh Ha, deputy chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee, agreed that the wind power project matches the city’s policy and plan but reiterated that the investor should provide further estimates of its impacts.
He tasked the Department of Industry and Trade to assist Cong Ly with procedures related to the project.
