ACEN to tap add’l P6-B loan (Sabong News)

The board of directors of Ayala-led ACEN Corporation has approved the company’s plan to secure additional P6 billion loan for the programmed projects that will underpin its targeted portfolio growth. The company has not given details yet on the loan procurement, including the banks that shall be tapped for the credit facility. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the Ayala energy firm similarly stated that it will be issuing AUD360 million in corporate guarantees for its projects in Australia – primarily its ongoing 520 megawatt-peak (MWp) New England solar farm venture in that market. The company has been accelerating its development pace for RE projects in various Asian markets, in line with its goal of concretizing 5,000 megawatts of green energy portfolio by year 2025. Given assumptions that ACEN will likely top that target, company executives had recently ramped up the RE investment pipeline to 18,000MW and that is seen turning to fruition by year 2030. As emphasized by Eric T. Francia, president and CEO of ACEN, the renewables capacity of the company already stands at 3,300MW, “which puts us in a position to reach our 5,000MW goal, one or two years ahead of the 2025 target.” And while the Ayala energy firm has been setting its sights on geographic expansion beyond Asia, including RE investment targets in the United States, Francia indicated that “the Philippines remain our core market, accounting for 40-percent of our installed capacity.” The key projects being advanced to completion for next year in the Philippine market would be for aggregate capacity of 500MW – such comprise the 283MW San Marcelino solar farm in Zambales; and the 160MW Pagudpud wind farm in Ilocos Norte. Across the Asian region, the expansion projects cover the 1,000MW attributable capacity buildup in Vietnam that include solar and wind farm developments; as well as the Australia solar project. “As we aggressively roll out our renewable investments, the company shall continue to work with strategic partners to accelerate our growth,” Francia stressed. Apart from the ongoing RE installations, the ACEN executive conveyed that “the company is also beginning to develop projects that involve new technologies such as floating solar and offshore wind,” adding that “we believe these technologies will become more competitive over time and provide alternative sites for geographies with land challenges.”