AC Energy beefs up renewables portfolio

AC Energy Philippines Inc. is revving up its renewables business,  expecting to power up within the next 12 months several generation assets with an aggregate capacity of  550 megawatts.

“(Going) forward, we’ll be focusing a lot on renewables and peaking plants,” ACEPH president Eric Francia said in a press briefing.

Peaking plants are those that operate and augment supply in the grid when during peak demand hours.

Francia said ACEPH’s greenfield projects — ones that do not involve prior work — include two solar facilities. One is a 120-MW plant in Alaminos, Laguna, and another is a 60-MW plant in Palauig, Zambales.

“We are going to issue the notice to proceed very soon but we’ve already disclosed the board approval for the investment in these two solar projects (as well as) one peaking project in Pililla (in Rizal), the 150-MW peaking plant,” the company president said.

He said construction work was expected to start in the next few weeks or months and that the peaking plant alone would take less than a year to complete.