Gia Lai Wind Power Project

99 MW onshore wind · Gia Lai Province, Vietnam · AIIB-financed

2021 – 2022

Topics: onshore wind · lender E&S requirements · community health & safety · environmental baseline · Indigenous Peoples

My contributions: environmental baseline support · electric and magnetic fields (EMF) assessment

Skills used: ICNIRP guidelines, IFC EHS Guidelines, AIIB Environmental and Social Framework

Official project page: AIIB – Viet Nam: Gia Lai Wind Power Project (No. 000508)

Project at a glance

Capacity 99 MW, 30 turbines of 3.3 MW
Wind farms Ia Pech and Ia Pech 2
Grid connection 110/22 kV substation, 110 kV overhead line, 22 kV underground cables
Location Ia Pech Commune, Ia Grai District, Gia Lai Province, Central Highlands, Vietnam
Sponsor China Power International Holding Limited (CPIH)
Borrower Dien Xanh Gia Lai Investment Energy JSC
Lender Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Financing USD 60 million AIIB loan
E&S category Category A (highest risk level)

Overview

The project combines two wind farms, Ia Pech and Ia Pech 2, into a single 99 MW facility in Gia Lai Province, connected to the national grid through a new substation and 110 kV transmission line. AIIB proposed a USD 60 million loan to increase Vietnam’s wind generation capacity. The ESIA, prepared by ERM Vietnam, assessed the project against the AIIB Environmental and Social Framework, IFC Performance Standards, the World Bank Group EHS Guidelines and the Equator Principles.

Key environmental & social issues

As a Category A project, it carries significant potential impacts:

  • Biodiversity: collision and electrocution risk for birds and bats, assessed through a critical habitat assessment
  • Community health & safety: noise, shadow flicker, blade throw and electric and magnetic fields from the grid connection
  • Land & livelihoods: economic displacement from land acquisition, including Ethnic Minority (Gia Rai) communities in the project area
  • Cumulative impacts: other wind power plants in the same region

Closing the gap to lender standards

At the time of AIIB’s review, no project-level grievance mechanism for communities or workers met AIIB requirements. A Corrective Environmental and Social Action Plan (CESAP) and an updated Stakeholder Engagement Plan were disclosed, and a third-party review and grievance mechanism enhancements were required before AIIB Board consideration.

My role

  • Supported the Environmental Baseline chapter, describing the site’s climate and meteorology (temperature, rainfall, humidity, sunshine and wind regime), natural hazards, topography, geology and hydrology, and the baseline noise conditions used for the turbine noise assessment
  • Authored the Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMF) assessment, evaluating operational exposure from the 110 kV overhead line, 22 kV underground cables, substation and turbines against ICNIRP 50 Hz reference levels at the edge of the right-of-way, using modelled electric and magnetic field profiles for the transmission tower design

Project documents (AIIB)

Official documents disclosed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank:

Project summary

Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA)

Social management plans

Corrective Environmental and Social Action Plan (CESAP)

More documents are on the AIIB project page.

← Back to all projects