ACEN raises stake in Cagayan solar farm

MANILA  -Ayala-led energy firm ACEN Corp. is infusing another P211.5 million into a partner company for the development of a solar farm project in Cagayan province that is set to begin operations this year.

In a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday, ACEN said it had signed a subscription agreement with Natures Renewable Energy Development Corp. (Naredco) to buy 77,710 of the latter’s preferred shares.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, said Naredco would use the budget to fund development of the 133-megawatt (MW) Cagayan North Solar Power Plant Project in Lal-lo, Cagayan.

The project is a joint venture between ACEN and clean energy firm CleanTech Renewable Energy 4 Corp.

Naredco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of CleanTech, serves as a special purpose vehicle for the solar farm.

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

It will also help avoid around 112,000 metric tons of carbon emissions in line with ACEN’s goal of achieving “net-zero” by 2050, according to the company.

ACEN also recently invested P312.5 million in Naredco for the project.

https://business.inquirer.net/399801/acen-invests-p-312-5m-in-renewable-energy-unit

Last year, ACEN inked an agreement with Naredco for a P1.14-billion loan to advance construction of the Lal-lo solar farm.

Earlier, ACEN filed for the shelf registration of up to 50 million preferred shares and a proposed public offering of up to 25 million preferred shares for P1,000 per share.

The company plans to raise P25 billion from this offering.

ACEN has 4,000 MW of attributable capacity from facilities in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Australia. INQ