Acen bolsters Asian goal in tie-up with German firm

The Ayala Group’s AC Energy Corp. (Acen) is infusing $200 million in a joint venture with German company ib vogt GmbH to further expand its renewable energy portfolio.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, Acen said the partnership aimed to build large-scale solar power plants across Asia, with focus on late-stage, shovel-ready projects in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Bangladesh and other countries in the region.

Under the deal, the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group would invest up to $200 million in equity on top of debt financing “to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy in Asia.”

1,000-MW capacity

The joint venture is targeting a minimum operational capacity of 1,000 megawatts in the coming years, with the potential for further expansion.

A big chunk of this would come from ib vogt’s Asia development pipeline of more than 5,000 MW. Some of these projects would begin construction this year.

The tie-up is also aiming to acquire late-stage projects from local and regional developers.

“ib vogt has a proven track record of developing solar projects across Europe, Asia and North Africa, and we are very excited to partner with ib vogt as we set up a platform to continue building our presence across the region together,” said Patrice Clausse, Acen international president and chief operating officer.

Anton Milner, chief executive of ib vogt, said the platform would complement their global strategy of developing a diversified portfolio of high quality independent power producer assets. Headquartered in Berlin, ib vogt also focuses on the development of large-scale turnkey photovoltaic plants and battery storage projects.

“We are enthusiastic to be working with Acen and are convinced that the combination of the unique skill sets and strengths of both parties will accelerate our ability to impact on the transition to clean, sustainable energy in Asia,” added Milner.

Largest in Southeast Asia

The partnership with ib vogt is seen to bolster Acen’s aspiration of becoming the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia with 5,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

Acen currently has more than 3,800 MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Australia. Of this portfolio, 87 percent or 3,300 MW is renewable energy.

Meanwhile, Acen and Citicore Power Inc. announced their 72-MW Arayat-Mexico solar farm has already reached full capacity less than a year since its inauguration.

The solar facility is expected to add much needed capacity to the grid in time for the demand surge during the summer season.

Citicore CEO Oliver Tan said the company was also preparing to infuse the project into its subsidiary, Citicore Energy REIT Corp., to grow its renewable energy asset portfolio in the coming months.

Tan also said they were also prepared to break ground on the second phase of the solar farm this month, thus increasing the total plant capacity to 116 MW upon completion by year-end. INQ