Bau Hien's aspiration to create sustainable value from renewable energy

By preparing its mindset, potential and strategy early and far in advance, when entering the renewable energy sector, T&T Group quickly emerged as a "big guy" with a series of national-level projects, aiming for sustainable development goals, contributing to the Government's successful implementation of the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

For Founder and Executive Chairman Do Quang Hien, clean energy is not just about asking for projects to make profit. More importantly, it is also the aspiration to create sustainable values ​​for society, community and country.

Recently, General Secretary To Lam, his wife and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation paid a State visit to Laos to attend the 50th National Day celebration of the Lao People's Democratic Republic and co-chair the High-Level Meeting between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party.

During the talks and working sessions, the General Secretary emphasized the determination to elevate the relationship between the two countries from cooperation to strategic integration, complementing and supporting each other in terms of resources, potential, and development space. Specifically in the energy sector, the General Secretary stated: "Laos' electricity and renewable energy sources can be connected to the regional power grid via Vietnam."

The General Secretary's message has set new requirements for Vietnamese enterprises: to proactively, extensively and lead participation in the region's strategic energy infrastructure.

Be proactive on the international energy "playground"

In fact, over the past years, a number of domestic enterprises have proactively invested in cross-border energy. In Laos, bilateral cooperation in this field is considered to have great potential. Many large-scale projects invested by Vietnam are about to "reap sweet fruit".

One example is the Truong Son Wind Power Plant, developed by the Viet Lao Investment and Energy Joint Stock Company. With a capacity of 600 MW, when put into operation, the project will supplement Vietnam's power supply when the load increases, helping to reduce the risk of power shortages in the northern provinces.

Another project that has attracted special attention from experts is the Savan 1 Wind Power Plant of T&T Group . Officially receiving the concession contract since January 2025, just over half a year later, this enterprise has rapidly completed a 220kV line of more than 50km connecting the power transmission line from Savannakhet to Vietnam. The line marks an important step in creating an important backbone to "connect power sources and renewable energy from Laos to the regional power grid through Vietnam" as recently requested and expected by General Secretary To Lam.

T&T Group's Savan 1 Wind Power Plant project in Laos is highly appreciated by experts.

Notably, according to the plan, the project with a total capacity of 495MW and a total investment of 768 million USD will officially be put into commercial operation, bringing clean electricity to Vietnam by the end of this year. This project is highly appreciated by experts, as it diversifies the supply source, develops green energy, strengthens national energy security; and simultaneously realizes high-level commitments between the two governments; contributing to bringing the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Laos into a practical and effective cooperation phase.

Looking more broadly, the journey of Truong Son Wind Power or Savan 1 Wind Power is not only a story of investment in energy, but also a testament to the aspiration of the private sector in the process of accompanying the country, creating sustainable energy infrastructure in the future.

Nearly two decades of building the foundation

Returning to the case of T&T Group, it wasn't until Savan 1 achieved its "miracle" in Laos that the Group's energy sector began to be discussed. As the development of renewable energy became an inevitable global trend, the company owned by Mr. Hien had already made preparations early on.

In a rare interview with the press at the end of 2021, this discreet businessman revealed that for 15 years he had been pondering the direction of Vietnam's energy sector: "Since T&T was established, I have participated in many forums and conferences; I have had the opportunity to interact with many reputable international organizations, businesses, experts, and managers. From these meetings, I asked myself: Why do many countries with the same starting point as Vietnam achieve high levels of development in many fields such as agriculture, industry, and the environment?"

Nearly two decades ago, Mr. Hien's T&T Group prepared its mindset and resources for the renewable energy playground.

Regarding energy, Mr. Hien soon commented: In Vietnam, in the past, priority was given to developing hydroelectricity and coal power. This is an inevitable development law that most countries have gone through. But now, developed countries have switched directly from coal and hydroelectricity to renewable energy.

"Since then, I have thought that Vietnam will also follow the same trend ," said Mr. Hien.

Not stopping at the idea, the businessman born in 1962 quickly started to prepare his mindset, potential and strategy, ready for the "inevitable transition" in the future. He studied, researched, and raised the issue of cooperation with partners to develop renewable energy. At the same time, his business also had opinions with the State management agency to gradually include renewable energy in the electricity industry development plan. Continuously in the following years, closely following the Government's policy, T&T persistently planned a strategy for the playground which was still very new and full of confusion.

The process of accumulating and preparing resources is like a spring that has been compressed for a long time; then it really burst out in 2020, when T&T decided to develop renewable energy as a key business area of ​​the Group.

The flywheel effect and the strong rebound of T&T.

In June 2020, Phuoc Ninh Solar Power Plant was officially put into operation by T&T Group after only 4 months of construction. Not long after, 3 other similar projects of Mr. Hien continued to connect to the grid, bringing the total electricity capacity contributed by this Group in the "starting year" to 245MW.

From that first step, the chain of energy projects under the T&T brand quickly expanded across the country. Currently, the Group has deployed cumulative investment with a total investment capacity of nearly 2,900 MW; of which 877 MW has been completed and put into operation for power generation.

Phuoc Ninh Solar Power Plant marks T&T's first step in the energy sector after 15 years of accumulating mindset and resources.

To explain T&T's remarkable growth in the energy sector, let's refer to one of the classic theories of economics. In 2001, in his book "From Good to Great," Professor Jim Collins, a leading global management expert, introduced the concept of the Flywheel Effect to explain the leaps forward of many large businesses worldwide. He wrote: "Imagine you are pushing a giant steel flywheel. Initially, it is heavy, almost immobile. You have to put all your strength into each of the first rotations, slowly and laboriously. But then, after hundreds of persistent rotations, the flywheel begins to spin faster and more easily, until it operates on its own using the kinetic energy you have accumulated."

"The business flywheel does not spin on dreams and then leave them there, but on repeated, consistent, and directed actions... And the leader is the one who starts that flywheel first," he concluded.

Phuoc Huu – Duyen Hai 1 wind power project of T&T Group.

Looking at T&T Group, especially in the energy sector, this classic pattern becomes clear. Nearly two decades ago, Chairman Hien started the engine. He and T&T spent the following years persistently "accumulating momentum," preparing resources to achieve a leap forward in the 2020-2025 period.

From the existing foundation, Mr. Hien's T&T is looking far and thinking big, with the mindset of contributing to building the national strategic energy infrastructure. This is demonstrated by large-scale projects, typically the 1,500 MW Hai Lang LNG Power Plant in Quang Tri. When operational in 2029, the project will turn Quang Tri into the largest clean energy center in the Central region. T&T Group is also a pioneer in potential new energy fields such as offshore wind power, LNG Hub, green hydrogen; investing in a factory to produce battery energy storage systems (BESS)...

Rendering of the Hai Lang LNG Power Plant project (Quang Tri province)

In the medium term, T&T aims to achieve a total power generation capacity of 16-20 GW by 2035, accounting for about 10% of the total installed capacity of Vietnam's power system, most of which is from clean energy sources, towards the common goal of bringing Vietnam to net zero emissions by 2050.

In the long term, T&T proposes researching the development of a high-tech renewable energy supporting industrial park model in Vietnam with a sustainable vision. As Chairman Hien once shared: "In the future, as Vietnam develops many renewable energy projects, the demand for materials and equipment will be enormous, and we will have to import them if we don't produce them domestically. Therefore, we think that in the next 10 years, when we invest in more renewable energy projects, we need a renewable energy industry and supporting industries. With a renewable energy supporting industry, we can not only serve the domestic market but also export to the region because the general trend is to develop wind and solar power . "

Fatherland, people and technology

Observing T&T's journey of nearly two decades venturing into the energy sector, it's no surprise to see the series of miracles this "empire" has created and continues to create. Besides the classic story of the flywheel's inertia, according to experts, one of Chairman Hien's core "secrets" lies in always prioritizing three factors: the nation, technology, and people.

The Tiger businessman was once frank: Energy cannot be done in a hurry, asking for projects is not just for profit but the aspiration to create sustainable values ​​for society, community and country.

He recounted: "Someone advised me: 'Mr. Hien, working in energy is very hard work, requires a lot of investment. It sounds impressive, but it's risky and takes a long time. But the country needs technology, businesses need technology. And only with technology can you become a billionaire, only with technology can you regulate production.' I am very passionate about technology, and if I want to move quickly and develop, it must be high technology. I am interested in technology in all fields and focus on high technology."

Chairman Hien's aspiration to create sustainable value from renewable energy.

This viewpoint is most clearly demonstrated through the way T&T cooperates with foreign partners. Mr. Hien's Group is currently "joining hands" with many of the world's leading partners in the energy sector such as: Hanwha, Kogas, Kospo, SK Innovation (Korea); erex, Marubeni, Sojitz, JPower (Japan); Cospower, Gedi, Goldwind (China), BP (UK), Vinacom (Laos)...

He stated his opinion: In cooperation, the two sides need to agree on strategic goals, which must adhere to the national vision; at the same time, ensure that both sides always maintain the Win-Win principle, with mutual benefits. However, this process must always be accompanied by the "condition" of transferring technology and training human resources for the Vietnamese side, so that within a certain period of time, they can be autonomous in technology and management.

"My view is that foreign partners, when investing in Vietnam, should not only invest effectively but also contribute to Vietnam's sustainable development. They can't just invest, make a profit, and then leave, because if that happens, our country will ultimately lack access to technology, our people won't be trained, and Vietnam won't be able to develop. I stated this frankly to my partners. Initially, they didn't like it because they felt pressured, but later they greatly appreciated it," Mr. Hien stated candidly.

Also according to the head of T&T Group, many partners later sent letters, expressing their appreciation for T&T Group's community spirit, always wanting Vietnamese people to access and acquire technology, and for Vietnam to develop sustainably.

"Talking about the year 2045, what does Vietnam need to become an economically developed country? It needs people. If you want people, you have to train them, and if you want to train people the fastest, you have to learn from foreign partners, work while learning, there is nothing better than practice, technology transfer and on-site training", Mr. Hien emphasized.

Chairman Hien's aspiration to create sustainable value from renewable energy.

Commenting on Mr. Hien and his aspirations in the energy sector, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dinh Thien, former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, Member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council, affirmed: "Through monitoring and contact, I realize that Mr. Do Quang Hien is one of the leading businessmen supporting the above policy with clean energy projects being implemented."

Returning to the present day, T&T Group has just celebrated its 32nd anniversary. Similar to other sectors, in the energy field, T&T is increasingly asserting its position. Domestically, numerous projects bearing the T&T brand have made significant contributions to solving the national energy security problem. Abroad, the Savan 1 wind power plant is also ready to bring clean electricity to Vietnam. In the near future, the company owned by Mr. Hien is also continuing to research and invest in many large projects in Nha Trang, Ca Mau, etc., with the intention of forming "export hubs" for electricity to regional and global markets.

Looking at the big picture, the solid steps in both breadth and depth mentioned above have laid solid bricks on the path of sustainable development of T&T. On a larger scale, this is a testament to the aspiration to accompany the country in developing sustainable energy; creating a foundation for the goal of double-digit growth in the future.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/khat-vong-tao-gia-tri-ben-vung-tu-nang-luong-tai-tao-cua-bau-hien-336615.html