Vietnam’s first green power plant to operate soon

Chiem Hoa hydropower station will soon become operational with its first turbine going into operation later this month, after nearly three years of construction, announced the project’s management board.

Chiem Hoa hydropower station, the nation’s first run-of-the- river (RoR) hydro power plant, will soon become operational with its first turbine going into operation later this month, after nearly three years of construction, announced the project’s management board on Apr. 9.

Built at a cost of over 1.7 trillion VND, the plant, located on the Gam River , has the capacity to produce 45MW.

This is the first hydro power plant in Vietnam , which is river powered, a type of hydroelectric generation where little or no water storage is provided.

The plant is dramatically different in design and appearance from conventional hydroelectric projects. Traditional hydro dams store enormous quantities of water in reservoirs, necessitating the flooding of large tracts of land. In contrast, RoR projects do not require a large reservoir of water, which is the main reason why such projects are often referred to as environmentally-friendly, or "green power."

The project’s management board said that about 90 percent of the construction work has been completed. The plant’s third and last turbine will go into operation in October this year.