Construction of the wind power complex has begun in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh, 650 km (404 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City, officials from the Central Region Wind Power Development and Investment Co., the project operator, told Reuters.

They said the wind power turbines would be supplied by Danish wind turbine maker Vestas and the complex would generate up to 170 million kilowatt hours annually.

Power generated from the complex would be sold to state-run utility Electricity of Vietnam to supply the national grid at around 4.5 U.S. cents per kilowatt hour, state media reported.

The project would be financed by loans from Denmark's development agency Danida, the project officials said.

An increase in private businesses and a rise in disposable incomes have triggered 15 percent average annual growth in electricity demand in Vietnam, driving the government to plan 60 additional power plants by 2020.

While Vietnam has a long coastline of more than 2,000 km, the application of environmentally-clean energy such as wind power or solar energy has been limited.

Around 40 percent of Vietnam's electricity is generated by gas-fired power plants. Hydro and coal-fired plants produce 41 percent and 17 percent of the country's total power, respectively.

(Source: Reuters)