Japanese renewable energy developer Erex plans to start coal and biomass co-firing test runs at thermal power plants in Vietnam from August.
Co-firing test runs will start at the 110MW Na Duong plant in August and at the 115MW Cao Ngan plant in September, Erex said on 20 June. Both plants are owned and operated by Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries (Vinacomin).
The Japanese company announced in April that it was planning co-firing test runs at the two plants, but had not previously disclosed when the tests would start.
The trial operations are expected to last for several months and burn locally produced wood chips, starting from 5pc co-firing and gradually increasing to 20pc.
The two companies will renovate the plants in 2026-27 after the trial operations and start commercial co-firing operations around 2027-28, Erex said.
Erex said it also plans to conduct co-firing test runs at Vinacomin's 670MW Cam Pha plant in 2027-28 and start commercial operations around 2029-30. The company aims to carry out co-firing at six Vinacomin plants with a combined capacity of 1,585MW, including Na Duong, Cao Ngan, and Cam Pha.
The co-firing projects are part of Vietnam's net zero strategy. Erex is eyeing carbon credits from the plants once commercial co-firing begins. The company aims to sell some of the carbon credits in Japan and is currently negotiating with Vietnamese government on this.
Erex is expanding its renewable energy business in Vietnam and southeast Asia. In addition to co-firing projects, the company aims to operate a total of 19 biomass-fired power plants in Vietnam. The first of these, the 20MW Hau Giang plant, started commercial operations in April.
Erex also plans to build up to five biomass-fired power plants in Cambodia. The company projects that profits from Vietnam and Cambodia will account for more than half of its overall earnings by around 2030, from nearly negligible levels in 2024.
