First rooftop solar power projec
First rooftop solar power project inaugurated at Tan Son Nhat airport
The first rooftop solar power system at the Ho Chi Minh City-based Tan Son Nhat
International Airport was inaugurated on January 15, with an installed capacity
of 1.1 MWp.
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Delegates cut the ribbon inaugurating the rooftop solar power system
at Tan Son Nhat airport’s cargo terminal.. |
Covering a total area of over 7,500 m2, the project is under the management of
the Saigon Cargo Service Corporation (SCSC) and was invested in and installed by
Copper Mountain Energy JSC (CME).
This is the first renewable energy project to be installed in the airport
network in Vietnam as well as being the largest in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
In its first phase, the project is estimated to provide about 1.5 million kwh of
electricity annually, meeting 40% of SCSC's electricity demand, while reducing
its energy costs by about 15% and cutting emissions by about 1.5 tonnes of CO2.
In phase 2, the project will be expanded in order to achieve 100% clean energy
output.
According to an SCSC representative, the unit's electricity demand is about 3.7
million kwh each year. Putting the rooftop energy source into operation is
expected to save the SCSC about VND1.5 billion annually, along with making
savings on a lot of other operating costs.
Nguyen Quoc Khanh, General Director of the SCSC, said: “We aim to develop the
SCSC into a model air cargo terminal in Vietnam and the region, utilising
renewable energy and exploiting existing rooftop areas to save energy and
protect the environment.”
The project meets the rigorous quality standards needed for accreditation by
AFRY - a reputable Swedish-Finnish engineering, consulting and design company
within the fields of energy, industry, infrastructure and information
technology.
According to a representative from AFRY, for rooftop solar power projects like
that at Tan Son Nhat Airport, construction must not only ensure all technical
requirements and quality control specifications are upheld, but also ensure
aviation security and safety without any negative effect on air transport. The
project is one of the few highly lauded by the AFRY as meeting regional and
international requirements.
Notably, this is the first project in Vietnam that strictly complies with the
design, approval, and construction process, successfully putting into use a fire
protection system approved by the Fire and Rescue Police Department of the Ho
Chi Minh City Police.
Bui Trung Kien, Deputy General Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Power
Corporation (EVNHCMC), said that up until now, only factories roofs in Ho Chi
Minh City have anywhere near 70 MW of solar power in operation, while the
potential for its use is estimated up to be nearly 1,500 MW, so that room for
solar power development in Ho Chi Minh City is quite large. According to EVNHCMC,
there were 8,762 grid-connected rooftop solar power projects in the city last
year.
Source: NDO