AboitizPower to get 100% ownership of solar project in Negros Occidental

By Lenie Lectura – July 11, 2017

from Business Mirror

ABOITIZ Power Corp., through its renewable-energy (RE) arm Aboitiz Renewables Inc. (ARI), will soon assume full ownership of a 59-megawatt (MW) solar-power project in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the power firm said it will “effectively own 100 percent of Maaraw [Maaraw Holdings San Carlos Inc.] and Sacasun [San Carlos Sun Power Inc.]” as a result of a compromise agreement signed by its subsidiary Aboitiz Power International Pte. Ltd. with SunE Solar BV.

In July 2016 ARI sent notices of default to its joint-venture partner in the Sacasun project, Sunedison Philippines Helios BV (Sunedison Philippines).

“The compromise agreement settles the joint-venture issues and provides an exit for Sunedison Philippines in the Sacasun project. It will also enable AP International to acquire all the interests of SunE Solar in Sacasun and Maaraw,” the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange. The transaction will lead to AP International’s acquiring the entire issued and outstanding shares of SunE Solar in Sunedison Philippines. AboitizPower, which already owns 60 percent of Maaraw and Sacasun through ARI, will therefore increase its ownership to 100 percent.

The value of the transaction was not yet divulged. It said, however, it would be based on the agreed enterprise value of Sacasun and Maaraw, net amount incurred by ARI in acquiring Sacasun’s loan from BDO Unibank Inc.

In January ARI acquired  nearly P2.9-billion loan of Sacasun from the Sy-led bank.

The power firm said the transaction is subject to approval by the Philippine Competition Commission.

Meanwhile, AboitizPower said its subsidiary received the green light from the municipal council of La Trinidad, Benguet, to push through with the expansion of its Bineng hydropower facility from the current 5.48 MW to 19 MW.

The Bineng Combined Hydropower Project, which will be carried out by Hedcor, will increase the capacity of the three Bineng plants by more than three times.

Hedcor and the local government unit of La Trinidad signed on June 27 a memorandum of agreement to cover the project and the benefits for the locality.

Since its entry in Benguet in 1986, Hedcor has sustained its growth momentum. Starting from the rehabilitation of four hydroelectric power plants owned by the city of Baguio, the company later on constructed its own generation facilities in the municipalities of La Trinidad, Sablan, Tuba, Bakun and Itogon.

Mayor Romeo Salda of La Trinidad welcomed the project, saying, “We are positive that this development will have great impact on the municipality’s growth. The local government will play an active role in making this project a success.”

Currently, AboitizPower and its partners have a net sellable capacity of more than 1,200 MW from its RE portfolio of geothermal, hydro, and solar-power plants located all over the country. The company continues to grow its RE portfolio with the construction of the 69-MW Manolo Fortich run-of-river hydro project in Bukidnon and the 8-MW Maris Canal hydro project in Isabela. Soon, it will commission its first biomass power plant through subsidiary Aseagas in Batangas.