AC Energy eyes power portfolio topping 5 GW

AC Energy, the power arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp., aims to build a diversified power portfolio of more than 5 gigawatts (GW) by 2025.

“Our goal is to exceed 5-GW of capacity by 2025. We will do this by growing both in the Philippines and around the region,” AC Energy President Eric Francia said in the company’s 2018 corporate video released on Thursday.

Francia is confident the company will achieve this “because unlocking potential is the AC Energy way.” Besides, he said, “the time to invest in the power sector is now, as technology is rapidly evolving and new markets are opening up.”

AC Energy entered the power-generation business with an initial investment of $15 million in NorthWind  Power Development Corp. At that time, the said investment was equivalent to 16 megawatts of attributable capacity, or 50 percent of 33 MW in 2011, Francia said.

The company’s ownership interest in NorthWind has now reached 67.79 percent.

NorthWind owns and operates the 52-MW Bangui wind project in Ilocos Norte, the country ‘s first commercial wind farm. “We’ve always had big aspirations. We aspired to be one of the largest power companies in the country and, perhaps, a major growth driver for the Ayala group. We’ve ben surpassing expectations,” he said.

AC Energy has 1.3 GW of conventional power and around 300 MW of renewable-energy projects.

Its renewable-energy projects are the 52-MW Northwind Power Development Corp. in Bangui, Ilocos Norte; the 81-MW wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte through its affiliate NLREC; and the 18-MW solar plant in Negros Oriental, a joint undertaking with Bronzeoak Clean Energy Inc.

Meanwhile, its conventional power projects include the 668-MW GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. coal plant in Bataan, the 604-MW GNPower Mariveles, the 2×135-MW coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas, under South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. and the 4×135- MW coal-fired power plant in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte, in Mindanao through GN Power Kauswagan Ltd. Co.

The company is currently active in developing renewable-energy projects overseas in a bid to grow its presence in Southeast Asian markets.

Ayala Corp. President and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said partnerships are crucial in making sure AC Energy’s projects are executed efficiently.

“I don’t think we could have moved at this type of speed on our own. In each country. We had to look for partners that had complementary skills and, of course, similar  values to our own,” he said.

So far, AC Energy has forged partnerships with  Chevron’s Darjat and Salak geothermal fields in West Java, which have a combined capacity of 637 MW in Indonesia; UPC Renewables Indonesia Ltd. for a 75-MW wind farm in Sulawesi under project company PT UPC Sidrap Bayu Energi; and BIM Group of Vietnam to jointly develop over 300 MW of solar-power projects in Ninh Thuan province.

Ayala Corp. Chairman and CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II noted AC Energy has quickly grown into a significant power company, with a 20-fold growth in five years. “From standing start, AC Energy has quickly grown into a significant power company. In just five years, it was able to exceed 1,000 MW of capacity with strong platforms in both thermal and renewable energy,” he said.