ACEN invests P 312.5M in renewable energy unit

MANILA  -Ayala-led energy firm ACEN Corp. is infusing an additional P312.5 million in a partner company for the development of the 133-megawatt Lal-lo solar farm project in Cagayan province that is set to be completed this year.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Friday, ACEN said it had signed a subscription agreement with Natures Renewable Energy Development Corp. (Naredco) to buy 114,820 of the latter’s redeemable preferred shares (RPS).

These are composed of 66,470 RPS A with a par value of P2,820.51 apiece and 48,350 RPS C with a par value of P2,585.55 per share.

According to ACEN, the P312.5 million will be used to fund the development of the Cagayan North Solar Power Plant Phase 1, a joint venture project with CleanTech Renewable Energy 4 Corp.

The Lal-lo solar farm sits on a 115-hectare piece of land and is expected to power at least 75,000 homes a year.

It will also help avoid 112,405 metric tons of carbon emissions in line with ACEN’s goal of achieving net-zero by 2050, the company said on its website.

Last year, ACEN inked an agreement with Naredco, a wholly owned subsidiary of CleanTech, for a P1.139-billion loan to advance the construction of the solar project.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, currently has 4 gigawatts in net attributable capacity, 98 percent of which comes from renewable technologies such as solar and wind power.

It aims to reach 20 GW in renewable energy capacity by 2030.

Apart from the Philippines, ACEN is also present in Australia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. It previously announced plans to expand operations to the United States through the development of wind farms. INQ

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