Wind data gathered by the Light Detection and Ranging unit will be vital in advancing the Ben Tre project towards its targeted entry in operation in 2026. (Photo: www.mainstreamrp.com) Hanoi (VNA) - Mainstream Renewable Power, the global renewable energy company, and its local partner Advance Information Technologies Corporation (AIT) Corporation, have installed a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) unit at a 500 MW offshore wind farm project in Ben Tre province, reaching a key development milestone.
According to Mainstream Renewable Power, LiDAR has remote sensing equipment that accurately maps wind conditions and other atmospheric conditions, and is used in offshore wind projects to provide data to determine energy output for an offshore zone.
The LiDAR unit is placed on a fixed platform located 40km from the coast of Ben Tre province, making it the furthest wind measurement platform offshore in Vietnam.
The unit will log data via satellites for approximately 18 months to provide an accurate assessment of the wind conditions at sea. The LiDAR installation will play a key role in the project development for the Ben Tre wind farm.
Bernard Casey, Chief Operating Officer for Mainstream in the Asia-Pacific Region, said the project has the potential to play a pioneering role in Vietnam’s green energy future and will contribute to the realisation of the Vietnamese government’s ambitions to install 7GW of offshore wind before 2030.
The total investment for the project is estimated at 1.4 billion USD. Construction for the wind farm project is expected to start in 2023-2024 and reach commercial operation in 2025-2026.
In the draft National Power Development Plan VIII, an estimated 72.5GW of offshore wind energy will be needed to replace fossil fuels in Vietnam by 2050.
Mainstream has been operating in Vietnam since 2017 and signed a joint development agreement with AIT for the Ben Tre project in 2020.
AIT is a leading EPC contractor in Vietnam in the field of traditional energy, including projects of hydroelectric, thermal power, substation and transmission lines for power distribution. In the field of renewable energy including solar and wind power plants, AIT is both an investor and an EPC Contractor, having participated in 18 projects all over the country. /.
