The Blue Circle approved for 40 MW wind project in Vietnam

July 25, 2016

Southeast Asia’s leading wind energy developer The Blue Circle has received an Investment Certificate from the Vietnamese authorities for its 40 Megawatt (MW) Dam Nai project, in Ninh Thuan province, South Vietnam.

Sixteen months after having been granted site exclusivity from the provincial authorities, the Singapore-based renewable energy specialist, along with its Vietnamese partner TSV, have been awarded an Investment Certificate for 40 MW, opening the process to sign a long term lease, as well as Power Purchase Agreement with EVN, the national power utility.

The site of 933 hectares along the Highway One has seen a 100 metre meteorological mast erected by The Blue Circle in May last year to measure wind velocity and has a potential for a total capacity installed of 70 to 100 MW.

The Investment Certificate awarded to the company confirms the site inclusion in the Energy Development Masterplan of the Ninh Thuan province, as well as grid capacity availability for the project.

“This approval for 40MW is only the first phase of the total project. With the grid connection on site, as well as very good wind speeds, the Dam Nai project has all the attributes to succeed even in a low Feed-In-Tariff environment,” said Olivier Duguet, Chief Executive Officer of The Blue Circle, in announcing that the Investment Certificate had been granted.

“It is a great achievement and recognition of the professional development work which has been done by our team in Vietnam during the last three years”, he added.

The next steps for the project will be undertaking engineering studies along with the remaining permitting and financing. Construction is scheduled to start in 2017 for the first phase, to be followed by other phases in the subsequent years. Total potential investment for the first phase is expected to reach US$ 60 million.

“With less than 120 MW of wind power installed in the country so far, the Dam Nai project will position The Blue Circle as one of Vietnam’s wind energy pioneers, able to significantly contribute to the ambitious target set by the government. We intend to fully participate in the wind power expansion in Vietnam going forward and make wind energy become a reality in a country with big potential,” explained Gilles Beau, Chief Development Officer for The Blue Circle.

In accordance with the Paris Climate Conference signature, the Vietnam Prime Minister has set a new target of 4,000 MW for wind power capacity by 2025 (*Decision 428 of 18 March 2016) which positions the country as potentially the largest market for wind power in Southeast Asia.

*Decision No. 428/QĐ-TTg dated 18 March 2016 of Prime Minister on approval of “The Revised National Master plan for Power development for the period from 2011 to 2020, with the vision to 2030”.

About The Blue Circle

The Blue Circle is a developer of renewable energy projects in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia. Based in Singapore, the company works to bridge the gap in project development in the Southeast Asia region by bringing international project development experience and financial expertise together with local market understanding. By being vertically integrated with unique regional wind engineering capabilities, The Blue Circle can identify green field sites, pursue project development milestones up until financing and operating of the generating assets.

For further information, please contact:
Olivier Duguet
Tel: +65 62594921
olivier.duguet@thebluecircle.sg

The Blue Circle and Vestas join hands on wind power development in Southeast Asia

September 17, 2015

A collaboration agreement to develop a project pipeline of up to 688 MW across Southeast Asia was signed between The Blue Circle, a Singapore-based renewable energy project developer, and global wind power giant Vestas Wind Systems in Singapore on September 17.

According to the five-year plan set out in the collaboration agreement, the two parties will have their initial focus on Thailand and then explore further wind power opportunities in Vietnam and Indonesia.

“This agreement shows Vestas commitment to help make wind power happen in Southeast Asia following the rest of the world six-fold increase of wind installed capacity during the last 10 years. We are thrilled by this Collaboration Agreement with the world’s leading wind turbine manufacturer which is going to bring its latest on-shore turbine technology for low wind speed sites to Southeast Asia with us,” says Olivier Duguet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Blue Circle Pte Ltd. “Having EREN Renewables as development partners and Vestas Wind Systems as preferred technology providers will build a strong ecosystem of world and Southeast Asia leaders for our teams in Singapore and across the region to build success upon.” adds Olivier Duguet.

“Vestas is honored to be chosen as preferred technology partner by The Blue Circle for their projects being developed in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. We look forward to working with our partners in the coming years to unlock these wind power opportunities. We will support the development of this project pipeline in Southeast Asia making use of our global experience in delivering wind energy in 74 countries around the world and leveraging our strong technical expertise”, said Anders Runevad, Group Chief Executive Officer & President of Vestas Wind Systems A/S.

Out of 318 Gigawatts of world wind power installed capacity counted by the REN21* at the end of 2014, only 0.5 Gigawatt was installed in Southeast Asia, very far from the 92 Gigawatts installed in China or the 20 Gigawatts installed in India. However, several countries have issued positive regulation or tariffs for renewable energy and wind these past two years, notably Thailand, Indonesia, The Philippines and Vietnam. The cut in the ASEAN US$51b annual fossil fuel subsidies at the beginning of the year by major economies in the region (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) is also going in the right direction and adding to the potential positive momentum behind renewable power.

As pointed by the International Energy Agency**, Southeast Asia energy demand, with its 600 million inhabitants, is expected to increase by 80% between today and 2035, a rise equivalent to the current demand of Japan. If its current emphasis on coal power is confirmed, Southeast Asia might become the world’s leading CO2 emitter by 2035, highlighting the urgent need to integrate more renewable power into the region energy mix.

About The Blue Circle

The Blue Circle is a developer of wind and solar energy projects in Southeast Asia. The Singapore based company looks to bridge the gap in project development in the region by bringing international project development experience, financial expertise and capabilities together with local market understanding. Its growth strategy is twofold: through the development of its own projects and through partnership with local developers. By being vertically integrated and having its own wind engineering team, The Blue Circle can identify green field sites, pursue project development milestones up until financing and operating of the generating assets.

For further information, please contact:
Olivier Duguet
Tel: +65 62594921
olivier.duguet@thebluecircle.sg

*Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) report, Paris, 2015
**IEA Southeast Asia Energy Outlook report, Paris, 2013

Call for Wind Power to Solve Vietnam’s Summer Energy Shortage

August 23, 2015

Call for Wind Power to Solve Vietnam’s Summer Energy Shortage

August 20th, 2015

“If multiplied by the wind sites’ potential along Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces coastline, wind power could well be a solution for southern Vietnam’s energy shortage, as well as its coal and diesel dependence. We can easily foresee between 500 and 700 megawatts installed in the next 4 years if the financing conditions improve.” This is the view of Olivier Duguet, CEO of The Blue Circle, Singapore-based developer of wind projects in Southeast Asia.

On August 5th, EVN (Electricity of Vietnam), Vietnam’s monopolistic utility, requested Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) to boost domestic thermal coal production to avoid electricity disruption in Southern Vietnam(1).

Actually, the coal reserves at Duyen Hai 1 and Vinh Tan 2, the two largest thermal power plants in South Vietnam are running as low as 10 days of consumption. According to Truong Duy Nghia, Chairman of the Vietnam Thermal Science and Technology Society, “the South will suffer an electricity shortage if the two plants don’t have coal to run”.

While the power demand in Vietnam could reach 473 million kWh a day in August, lower than the peak demand of 536.8 million kWh reached in July 3rd, EVN announced the suspension of gas supply for Ca Mau 1 and Ca Mau 2 power stations for scheduled maintenance from 16 to 26 August (2). The two gas fired power plants have a total combined capacity of 1,500 megawatts and their temporary shut-down will force EVN to boost the 3,600 megawatts O Mon diesel thermal power plants production to specifically supply South Vietnam.

Electricity demand in Vietnam is forecasted to increase by 11.4% per year for the period 2016-2020 and the peak demand to reach 800 million kWh in 2030. The Master plan VII sets renewable energy target at 5.6% of total primary energy consumption by 2020 and 9.4% by 2030. Within renewables, the Government’s target for wind power is 1,000 megawatts installed by 2020 and 6,200 megawatts by 2030.

The power situation will be very tense in South Vietnam until the end of August following potential pollution of the UNESCO World Heritage site Ha Long Bay from floodwater runoff of open pit coal mines earlier in the month.

Thousands of tons were swept away by torrential rains in the Quang Ninh province, impacting also the coal-fired power plant in this Northern province. Coal has also been linked in April with population protests against air pollution by the power station in Vinh Tan Commune in Southern Binh Thuan province, leading to the Province’s Chairman official concern(3).

Far from environmental disaster and power disruption, wind energy could be a useful complement to balance the grid, lower fossil fuel consumption as well as CO2 emissions.

On its two sites under development in Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces, The Blue Circle has two wind measuring mast installed. Given the wind speeds recorded between July 7th and August 7th on these two met masts, the Singapore-based wind engineering team has assessed that an installed wind power project would have produced 18,200 MWh during the last month, according to the two sites’ expected sizes and conditions.

Although the summer months usually experience lower wind speeds in Southern Vietnam, the actual location of The Blue Circle wind projects, very well exposed to Southwest winds, would produce enough electricity to power a city of 200,000 inhabitants(4).

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/138554/evn-complains-about-coal-shortage--puts-high-hopes-on-red-river-coal-basin.html
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/42498/EVN-asks-oil-fueled-power-plants-to-spike-output.html
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/41969/Vinh-Tan-2-power-plant-pollutes-air-again.html
According to International Energy Agency 2011 Vietnam electricity consumption per capita estimates, www.iea.org

About The Blue Circle

The Blue Circle is a developer of wind and solar energy projects in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. The Singapore based company looks to bridge the gap in project development in the Southeast Asia region by bringing international project development experience, financial expertise and capabilities together with local market understanding. Its growth strategy is twofold: through the development of its own projects and through acquisition or partnership with local developers. By being vertically integrated, The Blue Circle can identify green field sites, pursue project development milestones up until financing and operating of the generating assets.

The Blue Circle and EREN Renewable Energy to develop more than 300 MW of wind projects in Thailand

July 20, 2015

EREN Renewable Energy and The Blue Circle will partner to develop a significant portfolio of wind projects in Thailand.

Singapore-based renewable energy developer The Blue Circle Pte Ltd, primarily operating in the Mekong region (Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia), today announce the signing of a Joint-Development Agreement with EREN Renewable Energy’s Southeast Asian subsidiary on July 15th 2015.

EREN Renewable Energy (“EREN RE”) is a global independent renewable energy power producer, which recently opened its regional headquarters in Singapore to manage its business activities across Southeast Asia.

The Blue Circle has been developing wind power projects in Thailand since 2013 with its subsidiary The Blue Circle Thailand and its Bangkok-based team of project managers. With a pipeline of more than 300 MW of wind projects at different stages of development, The Blue Circle Thailand is now partnering with EREN RE to bring these projects to completion.

“We are pleased to partner with The Blue Circle and their team in Thailand to combine our expertise and financing capacity with their strong regional knowledge. As we are building a worldwide portfolio of renewable energy power plants, we see Southeast Asia as one of the most promising regions for wind and solar expansion” said Fabienne Demol, Head of Business Development of EREN RE.

“As EREN RE’s team is made of real wind professionals with an impressive track record, we are thrilled to announce this partnership” stated Olivier Duguet, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Blue Circle. He added “Thailand is one of the most advanced countries in Southeast Asia in terms of wind installed capacity and together with EREN RE, we want to invest and participate in its future growth.”

The deal signed today with EREN RE’s further strengthens The Blue Circle financial capabilities. Thus, EREN RE will share along with The Blue Circle the project development costs and is positioned to invest up to US$ 60 million into wind projects themselves.

About The Blue Circle

www.thebluecircle.sg

About EREN Renewable Energy

EREN RE is a 100% subsidiary of EREN, founded in 2012 by Pâris Mouratoglou and David Corchia, who both show a significant successful track record in the renewable energy industry. Capitalized with EUR 600 million, EREN Groupe is the first company dedicated to natural resources efficiency, investing in and promoting innovative technologies in the sectors of water, infrastructure and energy. EREN RE develops power projects in countries where renewable energy represents an economically viable response to growing energy demands. Through partnerships established with local developers, EREN RE has accumulated a portfolio of over 525 MW of renewable energy assets in operation and under construction and over 1,500 MW of assets under development.

www.eren-groupe.com

For further information, please contact:

The Blue Circle
Olivier Duguet
Tel: +65 62594921
olivier.duguet@thebluecircle.sg

EREN Development Asia
David Delmas
Tel: +33 (0) 611431504
david.delmas@eren-groupe.com