Located about 200 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, the Bac Lieu project will be the first wind farm in the Mekong Delta. It will be designed to protect the environment of the region, which is known as the “rice basket” of the country and accounts for the largest amount of Vietnam’s seafood exports.

GE will partner with local developer Cong Ly Company Ltd., and provide 10 of its 1.5 MW rated wind turbines - together with operations and maintenance services - for phase one of the Bac Lieu Wind Farm. This will bring a total of 16 MW of power generation capacity. The turbines feature an 82.5 meter rotor for class III wind conditions, making it a good match for the Bac Lieu site, according to GE. The 1.6-82.5 is one of the industry’s most widely deployed megawatt-class machines, with more than 16,000 installed worldwide.

Cong Ly Company Ltd. also has plans for a second phase, which would add up tp 120 MW of power. Vietnam has a problem of chronic power shortages.

In 2009, GE established a manufacturing plant near the seaport city of Hai Phong. The facility produces wind turbine components, and the first wind turbine generators built there were shipped in May of 2010.