EDPR Sunseap eyes east Asia, Vietnam for utility scale capacity growth

SINGAPORE, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Singapore-based renewables firm EDPR Sunseap is eyeing north Asian economies as well as Vietnam and Australia to expand its utility-scale growth capacity, said a company executive on Wednesday.

"Today our utilities strategy is heavily focused on Vietnam, China, South Korea, Japan and potentially Australia if we can find the opportunities to get in," said Pedro Vasconcelos, executive chairman of EDPR Sunseap.

"For the longer term perspective, we see Australia positioning itself as a potential green energy exporter for the region. Using their own high quality solar and wind resource, they can become, in time, a significant exporter of green energy."

EDPR Sunseap is the Asia Pacific hub for EDP Renewables (EDPR), the world's fourth-largest renewable energy producer. It aims to triple its renewable energy capacity to over 2 gigawatt (GW) by 2025.

EDPR, which acquired a majority stake in Sunseap Group in November 2021, said in February it would invest up to S$10 billion by 2030 to establish a clean energy hub in Singapore for the Asia Pacific region.

Southeast Asia will remain a growth market for the company.

"We see more and more Vietnam and Thailand really growing in terms of industrialisation," said Vasconcelos. "So the ability to work in these countries and do large-scale decentralised generation is indeed an important factor for our growth."

In September, EDPR Sunseap acquired two solar projects in Vietnam, doubling its operational capacity in the country.

It also signed a memorandum in April with the provincial government of Indonesia's Riau Islands to develop large-scale solar energy and storage plants to supply power to the islands and Singapore.

In the hydrogen space, EDPR sees North Australia as a potential area for hydrogen or ammonia exports, while Singapore, Japan and South Korea could be offtakers in seeking energy diversification.

"They do not have natural resources but they have massive industrial capabilities. Our job is to try and find where the business is going to happen," said Vasconcelos.

EDPR is 75% owned by Energias de Portugal (EDP), Portugal's biggest utility. (Reporting by Emily Chow, Editing by Louise Heavens)