1. Japan’s JERA to buy 35% stake in Vietnam’s renewable energy firm for 15 billion yen
TOKYO — Japan’s biggest power generator JERA said on Tuesday it will spend about 15 billion yen ($112 million) to buy a 35.1% stake in Vietnamese renewable energy company Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC) to expand its overseas business.
The acquisition of an affiliate of Vietnamese conglomerate TTC Corp comes as the Japanese utility steps up its decarbonisation efforts to help tackle global climate change.
The deal is aimed at contributing to both economic growth and decarbonisation in Vietnam, JERA said in a statement.
Under the deal to be completed by October or November, JERA will buy about 14% stake in GEC from International Finance Corp and about 21% from Armstrong Asset Management Pte, JERA said.
GEC, which holds about 600 megawatts (MW) of wind, solar and hydroelectric power assets, including projects under construction, aims to expand its power generation assets to 1.7 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, mainly solar and wind power, according to JERA.
After the acquisition, JERA’s renewable power assets through equity holdings will grow to nearly 2 GW, it said.
JERA is a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power and Chubu Electric Power.
($1 = 133.8600 yen)
(Source: Tuoitrenews)
2. Vietnam to cut 23,390 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year with French solar power project
French oil company TotalEnergies will provide industrial property developer KCN Vietnam with solar panels which are expected to help the Southeast Asian country cut 23,390 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to Nikkei Asia.
The deal will put 280,000 square meters of solar panels on factory and warehouse roofs in southern Dong Nai Province, pumping out 51 gigawatt-hours of electricity a year, KCN said in a Tuesday news release that did not give a price tag.
TotalEnergies will operate the photovoltaics for 20 years, cutting 23,390 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, KCN said.
“We have been looking for a reliable and experienced partner to help provide clean energy to our tenants,” Nikkei Asia quoted KCN CEO Huynh Buu Tran as saying.
“It has been a long journey, but we finally signed the [memorandum of understanding] with TotalEnergies.”
Vietnam previously pledged to reach its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2050 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the UK last year, which requires the country to have a strategy to ensure national energy security and limit carbon emissions in the long run.
(Source: Tuoitrenews)