ACEN to build $1 billion wind project in Laos

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp. and its joint venture partners are putting up the first wind power project in Laos which is estimated to cost $1 billion.

In a stock exchange filing, ACEN said it signed through subsidiary ACEN Renewables International Pte. Ltd. the financing documents for the non-recourse project financing for Monsoon Wind.

The Monsoon Wind project is a partnership among ACEN, BCPG Public Co. Ltd, Impact Electrons Siam Ltd, Mitsubishi Corp., and SMP Consultation and STP&I Public Co. Ltd.

The project, in which ACEN will have about 24 percent economic stake, involves the development of a 600-megawatt (MW) wind power plant and its 500-kilovolt (kV) transmission line in the Sekong and Attapeu provinces located in southeastern provinces of Laos.

It will be co-financed by the Asian Development Bank as lead arranger, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Japan International Corp. Agency, the Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Hong Kong Mortgage Corp. Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Kasikornbank, and Siam Commercial Bank.

“We are happy to be working with our partners for the Monsoon Wind project, and deliver the first cross-border wind project and largest renewable energy platform in Southeast Asia,” ACEN International chief executive officer Patrice Clause said.

Aside from being the first wind power project in Laos, Monsoon Wind is also the first cross-border wind project in Southeast Asia.

ACEN said the electricity generated would be sold to Vietnam Electricity through the project company’s 500-kV transmission line.

The project is targeted to achieve commercial operations before the end of 2025.

According to ACEN, Monsoon Wind is one of the key projects in the Vietnamese government’s electricity development plan.

The project is expected to alleviate the electricity supply-demand challenges in Vietnam, while the country pushes through with their decarbonization goal.

It also aims to help strengthen the connectivity in the ASEAN region through the provision of cross-border electricity sales.

ACEN said the Lao government would benefit from the project through revenue from royalty fees and other sources based on the concession agreement.

“Vietnam has significantly scaled up solar and wind over the last few years which made it an ideal place for sustainable investments,” Clause said.

“Power demand in the country is recovering strong post-COVID, and the MOU between Laos and Vietnam unlocks a new avenue of providing more power to Vietnam while serving as a catalyst for more cross-border power sharing in the region,” he said.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, has been building solar and wind projects in Vietnam since 2017.

The company currently owns a total of 637-MW of attributable capacity in Vietnam.

ACEN aims to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 gigawatts of renewables capacity by 2030.

It is committed to transition the company’s generation portfolio to 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 and to become a net zero greenhouse gas emissions company by 2050.