South Korea’s SK Group will reinforce its partnership with the Vietnamese government to boost eco-friendly business in areas ranging from carbon capture to waste recycling, solar and wind power, said the group Chairman Chey Tae-won.
The second-largest conglomerate in South Korea has pioneered Vietnam’s fast-growing renewable energy market, operating solar and onshore wind plants in their pledge to net zero emissions by 2050.
“We will support Vietnam's clean energy transition and collaborate in achieving carbon neutrality by utilizing cutting-edge technologies such as carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), small nuclear reactors and energy solutions,” Chey said in a meeting with Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Oct. 28,
CCUS is a technical process of capturing CO2 from emissions for industrial production, turning it into value-added products, or storing it permanently or semi-permanently.
Vietnam is an ideal location for solar and wind power due to its ample sunlight and winds blowing from the long north to the south coast throughout the year. It aims to expand the proportion of these two green powers of total power supply to 61% (254 GW) by 2045, compared with 27% (21 GW) in 2021.
SK E&S, an LNG power generator, is leading the parent group’s renewable energy projects in Vietnam.
It has been operating a solar farm with a power generation capacity of 131 MW in Ninh Thuan, southern Vietnam, since 2020. It is also generating power for commercial use in Tien Giang in the west. Its capacity has surged by five-fold to 100 MW this year, versus 50 MW in 2021.
Early this year, SK E&C funded a joint venture, Solwind Energy, with Gia Lai Electricity, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s renewables group TTC. The firm is working on a solar project in Tay Ninh, southeast of the country, to build rooftop panels. Near the border with Laos, the joint venture is also building a 756 MW onshore wind plant.
SKC, the chemical products manufacturer, is also building a biodegradable material production facility in Haiphong. SK Ecoplant, a construction engineering company, is studying business opportunities in areas of waste disposal, waste battery recycling projects in a partnership with local firms.
