SK Ecoplant Completes Solar Roof Installation at Vietnam Industrial Complex... Targeting Vietnam Renewable Energy Market

SK ecoplant is launching a rooftop solar power project in an industrial complex in Vietnam. The company is accelerating value creation not only through solar power generation using idle land but also by securing carbon emission credits.

SK ecoplant announced on the 11th that it held a completion ceremony for rooftop solar power at the Samil Vina factory located in Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, on the 10th. Rooftop solar power is a power generation method that produces electricity by installing solar modules on building roofs. It does not require securing separate land for solar power generation by utilizing existing idle spaces and is free from location regulations.

A 1MW rooftop solar power plant at the Samil Vina factory in Vietnam, constructed by SK Ecoplant. Photo by SK Ecoplant

Vietnam is known to be experiencing power shortages due to a significant increase in electricity demand, insufficient power supply compared to demand, and a power grid that is not densely established. In response, the Vietnamese government is actively encouraging rooftop solar power projects.

The 1MW-scale solar power generation installed on the roof of the Samil Vina factory is a self-consumption type distributed energy system that uses 100% of the generated electricity within the business site. It does not require additional power grid construction and minimizes energy loss during transmission and distribution. Samil Vina, a global textile export company that has received demands from its customers to use renewable energy, has also opened a new path through this rooftop solar power completion.

SK ecoplant plans to expand the distribution of self-consumption rooftop solar power generation facilities in Vietnamese industrial complexes where stable power supply is needed. In addition to the site completed this time, rooftop solar power projects totaling nearly 7MW are underway in Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Haiphong in Vietnam.

Through this project, SK ecoplant also expects to secure carbon emission credits. In 2021, SK ecoplant completed registration of a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Vietnam. CDM is one of the greenhouse gas reduction methods that secures carbon emission credits from the United Nations (UN) based on the performance of greenhouse gas reduction projects.

The supply of solar modules for this rooftop solar project is handled by TopSun, a domestic solar power specialist company. SK ecoplant made a strategic investment in TopSun in 2022, securing the entire value chain of the solar power industry, including solar module manufacturing and business development. SK ecoplant and TopSun are also creating synergy through cooperation in projects such as the Concho solar power plant in Texas, USA, and direct PPAs with SK Hynix.

Meanwhile, on the same day, SK ecoplant signed an MOU with the Metropolitan Landfill Management Corporation and BCGE at BCGE headquarters located in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, to develop a greenhouse gas reduction project using renewable energy in the Vietnam region. This project secures international greenhouse gas reduction performance through waste incineration and power generation.

Kim Jeong-hoon, head of SK ecoplant’s Solution BU, said, “Vietnam is a place where the demand for stable power supply and carbon reduction coexist due to economic growth and industrial development. Based on SK ecoplant’s expertise in renewable energy solutions, we will work to solve global climate issues.”