ADB Grants $37 Mn for Southeast Asia’s Largest Floating Solar Project

ADB has signed an agreement with DHD for the installation of a 47.5 MW floating solar facility which will be the largest such installation in Southeast Asia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a USD 37 million loan agreement with Da Nhim–Ham Thuan–Da Mi Hydro Power (DHD) to finance the installation of a 47.5 megawatt (MW) peak floating solar PV power facility on the man-made reservoir of DHD’s existing 175 MW Da Mi hydropower plant. The project marks the first large-scale installation of floating solar PV panels in Viet Nam and the largest installation in Southeast Asia.

This project will help to boost the share of renewable energy in Viet Nam’s overall energy mix and decrease the dependence on imported fossil fuels such as coal, said ADB Private Sector Operations Department Deputy Director-General, Christopher Thieme.

“The pairing of these two clean energy technologies—hydropower and solar—is a simple but highly innovative achievement, which can be replicated elsewhere in Viet Nam and across Asia and the Pacific,” he said.

The financing package includes a USD 17.6 million loan from ADB’s ordinary capital resources. This is supplemented by USD 15 million of blended concessional co-financing provided by the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia and its follow-on fund, the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia II. These funds were established by the Government of Canada to encourage private investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in Asia and the Pacific.

The package also includes a USD 4.4 million parallel loan from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency through a USD 1.5 billion equity commitment.

“We are proud to be the first company in Viet Nam to construct a floating solar power plant on a hydropower reservoir,” said the Chairman of the Board of DHD Nguyen Trong Oanh.

“This project aligns with DHD’s strategy of investing in renewable energy to decrease dependence on fossil fuel, contribute to energy security, mitigate climate change, and promote environmental protection and sustainable socio-economic development. Hydropower reservoirs in southern Viet Nam have vast solar power potential. Capitalising on the strong relationship between EVN and ADB, we have worked together to catalyse a new source of power for the country.”