AboitizPower allots P50B for expansion next year

AWAY FROM THERMAL The 340-megawatt Toledo coal-fired power plant is a leading electricity generator in Cebu province. AboitizPower will spend more on clean energy next year to reduce its dependence on coal. —Photo from AboitizPower

Aboitiz Power Corp. plans to earmark up to P50 billion in capital expenditures next year to fund its expansion plans, particularly the development of new renewable energy technologies.

Speaking to reporters last week, AboitizPower chief financial officer Juan Alejandro Aboitiz said their 2024 expansion would focus mainly on solar and wind power.

“A big part of our capex is for new projects, primarily for renewables. Fundraising is always a critical component of growth, so we’re looking at all of our options to raise more debt to fund our new projects,” Aboitiz explained.

AboitizPower, the energy unit of the Aboitiz Group, earlier disclosed that it planned on expanding its renewable energy portfolio from the current 1,000 megawatts (MW) to 4,600 MW by the end of the decade, allowing a 50-50 balance of its renewable and thermal assets.

AboitizPower’s thermal facilities have a combined capacity of around 4,500 MW.

At present, the company’s clean energy portfolio consists mostly of geothermal and hydropower facilities across the country.

Other solar facilities

It also has the 59-MW San Carlos solar power plant in Negros Occidental province, its first solar project. The P3.8-billion facility was built in 2016 to boost renewable energy capacity in the Visayas grid.

With energy demand in the Philippines expected to increase at 4 to 5 percent annually, AboitizPower previously announced that it was looking at developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in the municipality of Pagbilao in Quezon province.

According to Aboitiz, there is a need for the country to invest in LNG, “otherwise growth will slow, the economy will slow.”

“It (LNG) is an option that we’re evaluating. We haven’t made any decisions but it’s something that we’re pretty bullish on,” he said.

Earlier this year, AboitizPower president and chief executive Emmanuel Rubio said his company’s future LNG projects would help put up a new baseload option apart from coal. INQ