A new biomass power plant project is expected to be built on an area of about 10 hectares, with a total investment of up to $120 million at Bac Van Yen Industrial Cluster in the northern province of Yen Bai.

This is the first biomass power project to be granted an investment approval after Vietnam's National Power Development Plan VIII was approved in April 2024.

The project has also received support from the Japanese Ministry of Environment and received a decision to grant financial support under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) for the project's equipment items.

It is expected that the plant will begin operating in early 2027, generating electricity with a capacity of 50MW, including about 45MW of stable renewable power source for Vietnam Electricity's (EVN) power transmission system. The fuel used at this power plant is about 500,000 tonnes/year of scraps and wood by-products.

The Yen Bai 1 project will be the second commercial biomass power plant in Vietnam, and it is part of Erex's global biomass power development plan.

According to Erex, the group is building the first commercial biomass power plant in Vietnam with a capacity of 20MW in the Mekong Delta of Hau Giang, expected to come into operation at the end of 2024.

This is also a project that receives financial support under the JCM from the Japanese Ministry of Environment. An Erex representative said the group was planning more than 1,000MW of biomass power at 18 locations.

Erex representatives believe that biomass power plants will contribute to promoting local and regional economic development, while also making a great contribution to technological development and promoting biomass energy in Vietnam and will also become projects that draw in attention from around the world.