Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners shows appetite for one of offshore wind's frontier markets
Danish investment giant has consistently backed Asian aspirations for offshore wind
Danish clean energy investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has agreed to develop a major offshore wind project in Vietnam in partnership with state-run oil company Petrovietnam.
The joint development agreement — which firms up an earlier memorandum of understanding between the two companies — is geared toward development of an offshore wind project in Vietnam’s south-central region.
CIP described the project as still in an early phase of development and subject to relevant regulatory approvals, but added that it is "expected to be among Vietnam’s first offshore wind initiatives."
CIP is pursuing the project through its Growth Market Fund II investment fund.
Working teams from both organisations have coordinated and shared knowledge and technical expertise since signing an MoU last year. They are exploring opportunities for potential joint projects, according to the CIP statement.
"By combining CIP’s global experience and expertise in offshore wind with Petrovietnam’s proven offshore expertise and deep understanding of the local market, we are well positioned to deliver one of Vietnam’s first offshore wind projects and to establish the groundwork for future offshore wind projects in Vietnam,” said Robert Helms, a partner at Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
CIP manages 13 funds and has to date raised approximately €32bn ($37bn) for investments in energy and associated infrastructure from approximately 180 international institutional investors.
These funds focus on investments in offshore and onshore wind, storage, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity, advanced bioenergy, and Power-to-X.
Vietnam's national Power Development Plan includes a commitment to develop 6GW of offshore wind by 2030, rising to more than 70GW by 2050.
CIP is a stand out international player in Vietnam's nascent offshore wind sector.
The investment firm is already partnering Vietnamese companies on early-stage development of the 3.5GW La Gan offshore wind farm off the coast of Binh Thuan, Vietnam.
This wind farm is planned for a 600-square-kilometre area, situated 12 kilometres to 40 kilometres from shore.
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