ACEN to pursue offshore wind projects in PH, Vietnam (Sabong News)

Ayala-led ACEN Corporation will be developing offshore wind power projects in the Philippine energy market as well as in Vietnam, according to company Chief Development Officer Jose Maria Zabaleta. “Offshore wind is one of the technologies we’re currently exploring. We have identified possible sites in the Philippines and Vietnam where we are currently pursuing studies and pre-development work,” the ACEN executive said. He specified that in the firm’s home market in the Philippines, “ACEN has already secured wind energy service contracts for sites in Batangas and Manila Bay.” Records from the Department of Energy (DOE) showed the Ayala firm cornered renewable energy (RE) service contracts for the prospective 1,024-megawatt Calatagan offshore wind installation under its corporate vehicle Giga Ace7 and the 1,248MW Manila Bay offshore wind venture under Gigawind5 subsidiary. Zabaleta, nevertheless, indicated the proposed offshore wind farms are “medium to long-term initiatives that will depend on commercial and financial and technical feasibility of the potential projects.” He asserted that the commercial viability of the offshore wind prospects would be assessed on the backdrop of rising energy prices in the world market and how these targeted developments could be brought to commercial fruition relative to investment risks also in host markets. “Energy and material prices are currently elevated while some prospective project sites may require us to build additional transmission lines, roads and land,” Zabaleta noted. The ACEN executive still emphasized though that “we continue to track these technologies closely alongside floating and tracking solar through development platforms and countries across the region.” The Ayala energy firm just recently announced its fortified 18,000MW pipeline of RE projects that it is targeting to concretize at its well-established markets in the Asian region as well as at new investment territories that will include the United States. The reinforced project development blueprint is a follow-through to the 5,000MW of RE installations that the company will be bringing on-line until year 2025, primarily in key markets of Vietnam, Australia, India and the Philippines. To be integrated in the robust RE projects pipeline, the Ayala company noted, would be pursuing innovative technology installations — including battery energy storage systems (BESS) and eventually hydrogen ventures.