In Partnership with a Vietnamese Company
SK ecoplant announced on Jan. 25 that it will invest a total of US$200 million over four years in a 250MW rooftop solar power project in partnership with Nami Sola, a rooftop solar power company in Vietnam.
Rooftop solar power generation is a distributed power generation method in which solar panels are installed on the roof of buildings. It has the advantage of not having to secure a separate site and being free from location regulations.
SK ecoplant and Nami Sola established Saturn Solar Energy, a joint venture, in August 2021 for the project. SK ecoplant has a 49 percent stake in it, with the remaining 51 percent held by Nami Sola. SK ecoplant will be in charge of the registration, issuance, conversion, sales, etc. of carbon emission rights, while Nami Sola will be tasked with business development, licensing, direct power purchase agreements (DPPAs), engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operations.
In April 2021, SK ecoplant registered its renewable energy projects in Vietnam as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
For registered CDM projects, the U.N. grants carbon emission rights in accordance with their greenhouse gas reduction performances. Through this mechanism, a company can offset its own carbon emissions or sell carbon emission rights to other companies.
The rooftop solar power project will be carried out sequentially in cooperation with four industrial complexes located in southern and central Vietnam. Solar panels will be installed on the roof of large factories and warehouses in the industrial complexes. Power produced through the project will be used by the industrial complexes or sold to Vietnam Electricity (EVN). Carbon emission rights secured through the project will be brought into Korea and sold to other companies.
The project will be initiated at the Sonadezi Industrial Park, which is located in Dong Nai Province. Solar panel installation will begin in February and power generation will start in June. The facility will be operated for the next 20 years. Since then, SK ecoplant plans to develop one additional 60MW to 65MW project every year to complete a total of four projects, whose combined power capacity will reach 250MW. Through the four projects, it will be able to supply 365,000 MWh of power annually and secure carbon emission rights for about 330,000 tons of carbon dioxide.