Ho Chi Minh City warned against obsolete wind turbine imports

A wind power project in Can Gio using 1.5-MW wind turbines might be using outdated technology.

This was the warning given by Energy Conservation Center of Ho Chi Minh City on the municipal government.

In a report to the HCMC government on the implementation of the city’s green energy program, ECC-HCMC director Huynh Kim Tuoc said many wind power projects in Binh Thuan and Bac Lieu were found to be using wind turbines with a capacity of some 1.5 MW each.

These are cheap turbines stockpiled in developed countries that cannot generate much electricity, Tuoc stated.

He said a number of developed countries had produced wind turbines with a capacity of 6-7 MW each.

“Other countries in the world no longer develop wind power projects using 1.5-MW turbines. Several groups in Germany, Spain and the U.S. have a lot of wind turbines of this kind in stockpile, so they want to sell off their products to Vietnam,” Tuoc remarked.

However, many ODA-funded wind power projects in Vietnam are still applying outdated technology.

He emphasized that if the project of Cong Ly Company with 100 wind turbines was approved for development in Can Gio District, other projects with more advanced technology would have no room to get going in the future.

To Hoai Dan, general director of Cong Ly Trading-Construction Co. Ltd., said the wind turbines supplied by the U.S. firm G.E apply the world’s leading technology. At present, Cong Ly is conducting geological survey in Can Gio to carry out the wind power project covering 2,000 hectares of sea surface with equipment also provided by G.E.

For more.