Japan’s largest power generation firm JERA has paid JPY15bn (USD112m) for a 35.1% stake in Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC), a renewable energy unit under Vietnam’s conglomerate Than Thanh Cong Group (TTC), to expand its overseas decarbonization business, as reported by Reuters on August 16. According to JERA, the deal is aimed at boosting both economic growth and decarbonization in Vietnam. The Vietnam renewable energy unit will use the proceeds from the deal to boost its renewable power generation capacity. According to GEC and TTC’s plan, they will invest a total of USD1bn to raise its renewables capacity to over 2,000 megawatts (MW) by 2025, from around 600 MW at present.

JERA eyes the booming demand for clean energy in Vietnam. The country aims to double its power capacity to about 150 gigawatts (GW) by 2030 to meet its power consumption which has grown by around 10% per year over the last decade. To pave way for realizing its vision of net-zero emissions by 2050, Vietnam expects green energies including wind and solar power to contribute one-third of the 2030 energy mix, compared to 14% currently. On the other hand, the country seeks to slash coal-fired power’s share in its power installation to 9.6% by 2045 from 32% by the end of 2020. In addition, the Vietnam government has been reviewing a plan that will stop developing new coal-fired power plants from 2030.

Sources:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/japans-jera-buy-35-stake-vietnams-renewable-energy-firm-y15-bln-2022-08-16/

https://vir.com.vn/japans-biggest-power-generator-jera-acquires-35-per-cent-of-ttc-groups-subsidiary-95646.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-16/vietnam-group-adds-japan-partner-in-rush-to-boost-renewables#xj4y7vzkg

https://cleanenergynews.ihsmarkit.com/research-analysis/vietnam-revs-up-plan-for-transition-from-coal-to-wind-solar.html