ACEN to spend P70B this year to support clean energy ambition

MANILA  -Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is earmarking up to P70 billion in capital expenditures this year to accelerate the development of its renewable energy projects, according to a top official.

ACEN president and chief executive John Eric Francia told reporters the amount would help the company reach its target of 5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2025.

It currently has 4 GW in net attributable capacity, 98 percent of which comes from technologies harnessing solar and wind power.

“In the past, we’ve been averaging about 1 GW [in new capacity] per year across our portfolio in terms of additional projects … I certainly hope that given that we are now in the 4-GW range … we would go past that 5-GW mark in the next 12 months or so,” Francia said in a press briefing.

ACEN had previously announced plans to reach 20 GW in renewable energy capacity by 2030 in line with its net-zero emissions goal.

While the company was still at the 20-percent mark of this target, Francia said ACEN still sought to hasten the development of new clean energy capacity by 2 GW annually.

Bilateral loans and preferred share issuance would be tapped to fund the 16-GW incremental clean energy capacity requirement, he said.

Francia revealed at the ACEN annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday the company would be converting some of its common shares to preferred shares in order to support its expansion plans.

Strong growth

A company prioritizes interest and dividend payments to holders of preferred shares. Compared to holders of common shares, however, these investors don’t have voting rights.

Last year, ACEN, the listed energy firm of the Ayala group, hit a net income of P13.1 billion following the strong growth of its international operations.

Aside from the Philippines, the company is present in Australia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. It plans to expand its operations to the United States through wind farms.

Australia is ACEN’s largest foreign market, comprising 25 percent of its generation portfolio.

Despite expansion plans to diversify abroad, Francia assured stockholders that the Philippines would remain the company’s core market, as it currently accounts for 40 percent of portfolio.

“We are very supportive of the government’s renewable energy goals, particularly of reaching a 35-percent share of output by 2030,” Francia said. INQ

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