ACEN to build two wind farms costing around P17B

AC ENERGY Corp. (ACEN) expects to spend an estimated P17 billion on two wind power projects with a combined capacity of 230 megawatts (MW) that it targets to complete in the next two years, its top official said.

“[We will spend] approximately P17 billion for both projects,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia told reporters during a gathering on Wednesday.

Both wind farms will be built in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, with the one in barangays Balaoi and Caunayan having the bigger capacity at 160 MW. The project is under ACEN unit Bayog Wind Power Corp.

The smaller project, under Amihan Renewable Energy Corp., will be in Brgy. Caparispisan. It is an expansion of the Ayala group’s existing project in the area and will have a capacity of 70 MW.

“Those were the two projects that we’re confident will be completed by 2025,” Mr. Francia said, referring to the completion deadline set by the government.

The delivery deadline is among the items included in the terms of reference for the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP) in which 2,000 MW of new renewable energy capacity was offered to developers via competitive bidding.

ACEN won for its two wind projects during the auction held last month.

Mr. Francia said the Balaoi-Caunayan wind project is under a fully owned ACEN unit while the Caparispisan project is approximately 80% owned by the company, with a foreign partner holding the remaining stake.

In its annual report, ACEN said Bayog Wind Power started the construction of the P11.4-billion wind project in May 2021, saying it is “set to be the biggest wind farm in the Philippines to date.” It also said the project is targeted to start commercial operations in 2023.

“[The] 70-MW [project will] start hopefully within the year for completion [in] 2024,” Mr. Francia said.

The two projects will add to ACEN’s existing wind farms under different entities in the Philippines, namely: NorthWind Power Development Corp.’s 51.9 MW in Bangui, Ilocos Norte; North Luzon Renewables Energy Corp.’s 81 MW in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte; and Guimaras Wind Corp.’s 51 MW in San Lorenzo, Guimaras.

ACEN also has wind projects in Vietnam and Indonesia.

“We’ll be interested to participate in future GEAP, hopefully, there will be a next time,” Mr. Francia said.

The GEAP offers support to participants of the government’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), a program that requires distribution utilities to source a portion of their supply from qualified renewable energy developers.

The Energy department wants renewables to account for 35% of the country’s power generation mix from 21.6% as of 2020. It plans to hold a green energy auction yearly.

Ayala-led ACEN has around 3,800 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia. Of the figure, renewables account for nearly 90%, it said.

The listed firm aspires is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia. It targets to reach 5,000 MW of renewables capacity by 2025.

On Thursday, ACEN shares slipped by 2.86% or 24 centavos to close at P8.16 apiece. — Victor V. Saulon