Taiwan's largest ground-mount solar project starts operations

The 70MW project can produce 100GWh annually.

Singapore-based Vena Energy announced that its 70MW solar project in the salt plains of Chiayi County, Taiwan, called Mingus, is fully operational. According to the firm, Mingus is currently the largest ground-mount utility-scale solar project in Taiwan.

The project features 195,000 photovoltaic (PV) modules that span an area approximately 79.5 ha and are capable of producing more than 100GWh of renewable energy annually.

Mingus is expected to meet the electricity demands of approximately 28,000 households, whilst reducing around 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and saving up to 380,000-litres of water per year.

“Mingus is the largest ground-mount utility-scale solar project in Taiwan, and we are excited to continue supporting Taiwan’s goals for reaching 20GW of renewable power generation by 2025,” said Nitin Apte, CEO of Vena Energy.

The Singapore office of Watson Farley & Williams LLP acted for DBS Bank (Taiwan) Ltd, in various capacities, and DBS Bank Ltd, Taipei Branch, as lender, regarding term loan and performance bond facilities of up to approximately $77.5m (NT$2.4b) in aggregate to finance the project and development costs.

The project was won by Vena Energy in a competitive tender in 2017.