IFC, SN Power to develop renewable energy in Vietnam

The World Bank’s financial arm International Finance Corp (IFC) and a Norwegian industrial investor named SN Power have just signed an agreement to jointly build up a portfolio of renewable energy investments in the Vietnam.

Under this joint development agreement, the two parties will develop an investment strategy, policy, and guidelines to address Vietnam’s growing demand for power, IFC said in a press release. The partners will acquire operating assets and invest in green-field projects in the country.

IFC will be acting through its subsidiary IFC InfraVentures, the financial corporation said in the statement.

According to SN Power and IFC, Vietnam’s economy has grown rapidly since the start of the country’s liberalisation policies; however, the electricity supply has not been able to meet the growing demand.

The country now faces recurrent blackouts, which pose a threat to future growth and make the need for reliable power more urgent.

Erik Knive, SN Power’s executive vice president for Southeast Asia, said in the press release that “this partnership with IFC will allow SN Power to achieve synergy by finding viable hydropower projects that we can develop and operate sustainably. We believe we can strengthen Vietnam’s long-term renewable generating capacity through our power market experience and technology transfer”.

SN Power and IFC have collaborated previously on several of SN Power’s global investments in wind and hydropower plants in Chile, India, and the Philippines.

Tags: IFC, Renewable energy, SN Power, Vietnam energy