Development progress
Our in-house project development processes
The project is being developed in line with Mainstream’s Global Development Standard (GDS). This means our local team works closely with our global team to progress project development in line with the best international development standards – and according to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the World Bank Group Environmental, Health and Safety Guidelines.
Development reports and studies
Construction start: Q3 2023.
First delivery: 2025.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA):
The project team has engaged with national consultant, the Institute of Energy (IE) to assist in its preparation since March 2019. The EIA considers the full offshore and onshore environment. The EIA is a requirement under the regulatory process and must be approved by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The EIA has been completed in draft and will be formally submitted after appraisal of the FS.
Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA):
In addition to the EIA, the team is preparing an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) with the input of the Institute of Energy and ERM, a global environment consultant with local offices in Vietnam.
a) Environmental studies:
Two bird survey reports have been completed taking account of both the wet seasons and dry seasons, to understand the bird species present at different times of the year, and to observe their flight height. The outcome of these two survey reports, as part of the ESIA, has provided our team with important information that influences the project design and turbine height. The design and height will significantly reduce any impact on the seabird and marine megafauna populations in the area.
Further environmental studies completed have included Climate Change Risk Assessment, Coastal Processes Studies, and Noise Study (from Piling).
b) Social Impact Assessment:
A socio-ecological survey around the Vinh Chau town area has been conducted and interviews held with local people living in the project area.
Further consultations have also been conducted taking account of marine transportation, army activities and protection of the mangrove forest area. The consultations have been key to the evolving design of the project that is being conducted to the best international standards.
Wind Measurement:
The wind measurement campaign used three independent wind measurement devices installed between 2014 and 2019. The onshore metmast was installed in August 2014 by Vietnamese company, Vatec. The first offshore wind measurement commenced in 2018, when lidar Platform M1 was built by Vietnamese company, HTL. Lidar wind measurements at M1 commenced in December 2018. In 2019, a second offshore lidar (Platform M2) was installed by OEC Vietnam, and wind measurements there commenced in August 2019. The offshore platforms were decommissioned in 2023 after adequate wind data had been gathered for Phase 1A and 1B sites. A further platform will be installed further from shore in the Phase 2 area in early 2024.
Metocean Studies:
Metocean studies have been completed in the project offshore site by eCoast (New Zealand). This work has included a bathymetry survey to measure water depths, along with installation of instruments on the seabed to measure current speed and wave height.
UXO Survey and Clearance:
The potential presence of Unexploded Ordinance (UXO) is a pervasive risk for all projects in Vietnam, with more than 100,000 people injured or killed following inadvertent contact with buried UXO. For our offshore site in Soc Trang, an extensive UXO survey and site clearance was completed by Lung Lo (Vietnam). The work involved underwater sea-bed bomb scanning devices and use of divers. A limited number of UXO were recovered and safely disposed.
Geotechnical Investigation:
Stage 1 Geotechnical Investigation was completed by Fugro Vietnam in 2019 and included boreholes up to 50m deep. In 2020, Stage 2 of the geotechnical investigation was completed by Technical World (Vietnam) and included drilling of boreholes up to 70m deep and CPTs up to 30m deep.
Other studies:
Submarine cable: The design and optimization of the submarine cable system were carried out by Xero Energy (UK) and completed in April 2020.
Wind turbine foundations: The preliminary design of wind turbine foundations is ongoing was completed by Gavin Doherty Geo-solutions (Ireland) in 2020.