SK Ecoplant builds rooftop solar panels at Samil Vina in Vietnam

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

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

SK Ecoplant said rooftop solar power panels are economical as such modules don’t require the construction of an additional power grid. A rooftop method also minimizes energy loss during the transmission and distribution process, it said.

SK said it also expects the solar power modules to help Samil Vina’s business in general as such a facility allows the Vietnamese company to meet renewable energy use requirements in the country.

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

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

SK’S RENEWABLE ENERGY PUSH IN VIETNAM

Vietnam is a developing country with 10% annual growth in energy demand. The Southeast Asian nation is investing heavily in the renewable energy sector to slash its dependence on fossil fuels.

Industry officials said there is enormous potential in solar power generation projects in Vietnam given the country’s abundant sunlight. The country also has plenty of islands with average annual wind speeds exceeding 5 meters per second – favorable conditions for wind power generation.

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

SK Ecoplant has been striving to transform into an eco-friendly energy company from a construction firm.

In March, the Korean company signed a deal with BCG Energy (BCGE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Vietnam's Bamboo Capital Group, to jointly pursue solar and wind power projects in Vietnam.

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

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

BCGE is an established local developer for both wind and solar projects. It already operates a solar power plant with a capacity of about 600 MW in Vietnam. BCGE’s wind power generation projects currently under development 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 pursue a greenhouse gas reduction project in Vietnam.

SK has been enhancing its presence in the eco-friendly business by participating in carbon rights projects in Vietnam and globally.

“Vietnam is an ideal country for us. It needs a stable power supply for economic growth. The country also has to join the global initiative to cut carbon emissions,” said Kim Jung-hoon, chief of SK Ecoplant’s Solutions Business Unit.

Write to Jeong-Jin Eun at silver@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.