The Ho Tam Bo Floating Solar Power Plant and the Ho Gia Hoet 1 floating PV plant.

Image: Longi

Two large-scale floating PV power plants were grid-connected in Vietnam at the end of last year.

According to Chinese module maker Longi, which supplied its products for the projects, the two facilities, each of which have a capacity of 35 MW, were deployed on the Gia Hoet 1 and Tam Bo irrigation lakes, in the commune of Quang Thanh, located in the district of Chau Duc.

The panel manufacturer said the two plants represent the largest floating PV plant cluster in the Southeast Asia region. Currently, there is only one other operational floating solar power project in the country. Operated by Vietnamese hydropower producer Da Mi Hydropower Joint Stock Co., a unit of Vietnamese power utility Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), the plant has an installed power of 47.5 MW.

The entire project is owned by Vietnamese electric equipment provider Toji Group. “Despite the challenging rainy and stormy conditions made more difficult with COVID-19 related issues, Toji Group was able to complete the 110 kV substation installation, 10.8 km of transmission line development and grid integration in just four months,” Longi said, referring to the Tam Bo plant. “Similarly, the Ho Gia Hoet 1 plant included the solar power station of 35 MWp, 22/110 kV step-up transformer substation and 1.86 km of transmission line running from Gia Hoet 1 to Tam Bo 22/110 kV step-up transformer substation.”

Longi provided 74,469 panels with a power output of 470 W for both schemes, which were likely developed under Vietnam’s FIT scheme for solar.