ACEN readies investment for 335-MW wind project

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, is readying its investment for a 335-megawatt (MW) onshore wind power project in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon that will further bolster the company’s wind portfolio in the Philippines.

In a stock exchange filing, ACEN said its board has approved the company’s investment in the wind power project, which will be undertaken through its wholly-owned subsidiary Giga Ace 6 Inc.

The company, however, did not disclose the approved investment amount.

The project will stretch across the munipacilities of Paete, Pakil, and Kalayaan in Laguna, and Mauban in Quezon, based on data from the Department of Energy.

ACEN earlier said it has the largest wind portfolio in the country at 416 MW, 266 MW of which are in operation and 150 MW under construction.

Almost 90 percent of the company’s wind projects are in Ilocos Norte.

ACEN completed in the first quarter the first phase of its 160-MW Pagudpud wind farm in Ilocos Norte consisting of 80 MW.

The company expects the 160 MW to be fully operational no later than December 2025.

The P11.8 billion Pagudpud wind farm is ACEN’s third wind development in Ilocos Norte, along with the 52-MW North Wind Power project in Bangui and the 81-MW North Luzon Renewables project also in Pagudpud.

The company’s fourth wind project in Ilocos Norte, the 70-MW Capa Wind, also in Pagudpud, is under construction.

ACEN’s Giga Ace 6 was recently awarded as a successful bidder in the Department of Energy’s Second Green Energy Auction Round (GEA-2).

In line with this, ACEN’s board also approved the company’s procurement of a performance bond for the benefit of Giga Ace 6, which will enable the latter’s compliance with the requirements of GEA-2.

ACEN has about 4,500 MW of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, with a renewable share of 98 percent.

The company is eyeing to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 gigawatts of renewables capacity by 2030.