Ha Tinh Formosa Plastics Steel Complex power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Ha Tinh Formosa Plastics Steel Complex power station is an operating power station of at least 450-megawatts (MW) in Ha Tinh Formosa Plastics Steel complex, Ky Phuong, Ky Anh, Ha Tinh, Vietnam with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Formosa Ha Tinh.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Ha Tinh Formosa Plastics Steel Complex power station Ha Tinh Formosa Plastics Steel complex, Ky Phuong, Ky Anh, Ha Tinh, Vietnam 18.02883, 106.44555 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 10, Unit 2, Unit 2-1, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7: 18.02883, 106.44555

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2015
Unit 10 shelved coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2026
Unit 2 operating coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2016
Unit 2-1 cancelled[1][2][3] gas[1] 600[1] not found not found
Unit 5 operating coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2017
Unit 6 shelved coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2028
Unit 7 shelved coal - anthracite 150 unknown 2030

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
Unit 1 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]
Unit 10 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]
Unit 2 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]
Unit 2-1 Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company[1] Formosa Plastics Corporation [100.0%]
Unit 5 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]
Unit 6 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]
Unit 7 Hu'ng Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh [100.0%]

Project-level captive use details

  • Captive industry use (heat or power): iron & steel
  • Captive industry: Power

Background

The $28.5 billion[4] integrated steelwork being developed by Taiwan's Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company includes six blast furnaces, a 32-berth seaport, and a 2,150 MW coal-fired generating plant. The plant will be one of the world's five largest steel plants. Construction on the entire complex is expected to continue through 2020. Formosa Plastics Group owns 95 percent of the project, with China Steel owning the other 5 percent.[5]

In June 2011, construction began on Phase 1 of the project, after three years waiting for site clearance. Phase 1 will include 650 MW of coal generating units,[6] and will give the plant total capacity of 7.5 million tons of steel per year, costing $8.9 billion.[7] Phase 1 of the complex is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015.[8] The first batch of steel is scheduled to be produced at the plant in May 2015.[9]

As of April 2021, the Ha Tinh Formosa Steel Complex power station was operating with 650 MW of installed capacity.[10]

In the project's second phase, the company plans to expand the coal plant by another 1,500 MW, and expand the steel plant's capacity to 15 million tons.[7]

An October 2021 report by GreenID lists the Ha Tinh Formosa coal-fired power station as one of 18 coal-fired power stations in Vietnam that was struggling to secure financing. Given that China, Japan, and South Korea have all committed to stop financing new coal-fired power stations, it will be extremely difficult for any of these projects to secure funding in the future.[11]

In January 2023, reporting indicated that the in-construction Phase II of Vung Ang power station would supply electricity to the Formosa Steel Plant in Ha Tinh province.[12] With no apparent updates on the captive coal expansion units, they were presumed to be shelved.

Power Development Plan VII

According to the Revised Power Development Plan VII, released in 2016, the status of the project was as follows:[13]

  • Unit 1 - 150 MW - operating - 2015[14]
  • Units 2 and 5 - 2 x 150 MW - construction - target 2016 but completion not confirmed as of June 2017
  • Units 6, 7, and 10 - 3 x 150 MW - "planned with investor identified" (i.e. pre-permit development) - 2020


According to the Revised Power Development Plan VII, Units 3, 4, 8, and 9 use natural gas as fuel rather than coal.[13]

Just Energy Transition Partnership

In December 2022, Vietnam and a coalition of countries led by the European Union and the UK concluded a Just Energy Transition Partnership agreement with US$15.5 billion to fund the development and implementation of a plan to cap and then phase out unabated coal generation. The agreement proposed reducing Vietnam’s coal fleet capacity from 37 GW to 30.2 GW by 2030 and a path to “phasing out unabated coal-fired power generation after those dates.” As of January 2023, the Global Coal Plant Tracker estimated Vietnam had 24.7 GW in coal capacity, with a further 6.1 GW under construction. The deal noted a detailed plan would be finalized by November 2023 to guide the long-term transition plan.[15][16][17]

Incidents

During the dredging of the shipping channel for the facility's post, a hopper dredger was damaged when it hit a mine left over from the American War.[7]

On May 14, 2014, a crowd of 1,000 Vietnamese workers gathered at the project site, protesting against China's deployment of the Haiyang Shiyou 981 oil rig in Vietnamese waters. The protest turned into an anti-Chinese riot, with protestors burning and damaging equipment on the Formosa Plastics project's site (even though the project is being built by a company from Taiwan, not China). Three Taiwanese workers were killed, 149 people (both Vietnamese and Taiwanese) were injured, and 11 were subsequently sentenced to between 18 and 33 months in prison for inciting the riot.[18]

In July 2014, provincial authorities rejected Formosa Plastics' request to build a 18-square-meter shrine on the project's site for Taiwanese workers to pray at. The company began building the shrine anyway, however. The government (which places strong restrictions on religious practices) discovered that the temple was being built in October 2014, and ordered it destroyed.[19]

On March 24, 2015, a 30-meter-high scaffolding section at the project site collapsed, killing 16 construction workers and injuring 27.[20]

In June 2016, the complex was found to be discharging cyanide and other pollutants that killed fish along a 130-mile stretch of the Vietnamese coast. The plant's waste destroyed marine life and left hundreds of thousands of people affected or jobless. To make matters worse, so-called "Red Flag" activist groups that are allegedly working in cahoots with the government have reportedly been attacking villagers, parishioners and priests who challenge officials on environmental matters. FPG admitted fault and agreed to pay the Vietnamese government US$500 million to be used as compensation for people affected by the spill. In April 2018 it was reported that fish populations had not recovered in the area and that many fisherman had yet to receive compensation.[21]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://web.archive.org/web/20211024211617/https://vir.com.vn/steel-reliance-to-be-reduced-in-ha-tinh-83441.html. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20220825184839/https://insightplus.bakermckenzie.com/bm/attachment_dw.action?attkey=FRbANEucS95NMLRN47z%2BeeOgEFCt8EGQJsWJiCH2WAXW59W9rh3JQVhTTX6lUEPU&nav=FRbANEucS95NMLRN47z%2BeeOgEFCt8EGQbuwypnpZjc4%3D&attdocparam=pB7HEsg%2FZ312Bk8OIuOIH1c%2BY4beLEAeMutoVCLInEs%3D&fromContentView=1. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20221204065013/https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a7f5719d-93ef-4415-9e28-961b311daf35. Archived from the original on 04 December 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. Formosa wants to increase capital to $28.5 billion, Vietnamnet, 29 May 2013.
  5. "Formosa pours huge money for its site clearance," Vietnam Investment Review, March 30, 2014
  6. Fecon gets the nod to step into giant project, Vietnam Investment Review, 10 Dec. 2012.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Formosa pushes on with its mega project, Vietnam Investment Review, 20 June 2011.
  8. Formosa ready to prove doubters wrong, Vietnam Investment Review, 3 Dec. 2012.
  9. Taiwanese firm keeps demanding more despite huge incentives from Vietnam, Tuoi Tre News, 7 Aug. 2014.
  10. Steel reliance to be reduced in Ha Tinh, Vietnam Investment Review, April 2, 2021
  11. Trung Chanh, 18 dự án nhiệt điện than trong quy hoạch khó tiếp cận vốn, The Saigon Times, Oct. 3, 2021
  12. The new Vung Ang II thermal power plant will play a key role in supporting Vietnam's energy grid, Sarens, January 5, 2023
  13. 13.0 13.1 DANH MỤC CÁC DỰ ÁN NGUỒN ĐIỆN VÀO VẬN HÀNH GIAI ĐOẠN 2016 - 2030, Ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 428/QĐ-TTg ngày 18 tháng 3 năm 2016 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ (LIST OF POWER PROJECT IN OPERATION PERIOD 2016 - 2030, Issued together with Decision No. 428 / QD - TTg of March 18, 2016 by the Prime Minister)
  14. To inaugurate the Vung Ang I Thermal Power Plant and No.1 Unit - Formosa Thermal power plant, Hantinh Economic Zone Authority, 17 September 2015
  15. Viewpoint: Cautious outlook for Vietnam’s coal imports, Argus Media, December 20, 2022
  16. Political declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership with Viet Nam, Governments of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, & International Partners Group, December 14, 2022
  17. Unpacked: Vietnam’s US$15.5 Billion JETP Agreement, Vietnam Briefing, December 19, 2022
  18. 14 sentenced for causing disorder in anti-China riot in Vietnam, Tuoi Tre News, 13 Nov. 2014.
  19. Taiwan-invested Formosa builds illegal temple in Vietnam EZ, Tuoi Tre News, 25 Oct. 2014.
  20. Scaffold collapse kills at least 14 at Taiwan’s Formosa steel complex in central Vietnam, Thanh Nien News, 26 Mar. 2015.
  21. Vietnamese fishermen still victims of marine disaster, UCA News, Apr. 12, 2018

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.