Renewables
Initially we looked at on-site rooftop solar projects in Vietnam and were able to initiate the first phase of this project in our Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) factory in late 2019.
The pandemic led to a delay in implementing phase two of these projects, but we look forward to completing the installation in HCMC and also in our Hanoi factory in the early months of 2022. These will only ever be able to supply a small proportion of our electricity needs so we have been working closely with potential partners towards a much bigger off-site supply that would cover the rest of our needs for the two units. We are well advanced in discussions and are currently waiting for the Vietnamese government to announce the regulatory changes that will enable some pilot off-site supply agreements like this to be established. Meantime we have been advancing discussions with developers for on-site rooftop arrangements in our Bogor and Pleret sites in Indonesia and our Bangkok site in Thailand and are aiming to move these forward into implementation in 2022. Over the last five years our team in this cluster have learnt a great deal about the benefits, the pitfalls and the complex nature of these renewable energy projects and as we are at the leading edge in this area in Coats, we are able to help other regions as they look to make progress.