ACEN extends P2.3 billion loan to fund Pampanga solar farm

MANILA, Philippines — The ACEN Group is extending a P2.3 billion loan to fund the construction of the second phase of the Arayat-Mexico solar farm in Pampanga.

ACEN Corp. and its subsidiary ACE Endevor Inc. have signed an omnibus agreement with Greencore Power Solutions 3 Inc., and Citicore Solar Energy Corp. (CSEC) for the 30-megawatt alternating current (MWac)/ 43.68-megawatt direct current (MWdc) solar power plant project.

Greencore is the special purpose vehicle of the Arayat-Mexico solar project and the borrower in the agreement. It is 50 percent owned by CSEC, 45 percent owned by ACEN and five percent owned by ACE Endevor.

Under the deal, ACEN will extend a term loan facility to Greencore of up to P2.3 billion which will be used to finance the design, construction,  operation and maintenance of the solar power plant.

ACEN said the loan would be secured by a real estate mortgage over the real assets of the borrower, a pledge over the shares of the borrower, and the cash flows of the project.

Phase 2 of the Arayat-Mexico solar farm, which will increase its total plant capacity to 116 MW, is expected to be operational in February 2023, with construction commencing this month.

The 50-MWac/72-MWdc phase 1 was constructed in June last year and reached its full capacity in less than a year last March 23.

Once fully operational, the 72-MW solar farm will produce 105 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy annually, enough to power 45,000 households while avoiding approximately 72,000 metric tons (MT) of CO2 emissions annually.

The ACEN Group also financed phase 1 of the project through a P1.675 billion loan under a separate omnibus agreement executed by the parties on Feb. 4, 2021.

Citicore Power Group –which includes CSEC – currently operates eight solar plants across the country with an aggregate installed capacity of 163 MW, all of which are 100 percent contracted.

It has a pipeline of 1,500 MW of renewable energy projects to be developed over the next five years.

Meanwhile, ACEN aspires to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

The company has 3,800 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines and across the region, of which 3,300 MW are renewable, putting the company in a strong position to reach its capacity target earlier than 2025.