ACEN opens solar plant in Laguna
BY LENIE LECTURA – JUNE 22, 2021
from Business Mirror
The country’s second largest solar plant in the country has started exporting renewable energy (RE) into the grid.
AC Energy Corp.’s (ACEN) 120 MW GigaSol Alaminos solar plant in Laguna is the company’s second solar power project to start operations this year. It can power approximately 80,000 homes.
“We are pleased to add much needed capacity to the grid as electricity supply remains tight. AC Energy has already added 183 MW of solar capacity to the grid earlier this year, and we also expect to start the operations of the 150 MW Ingrid Power quick response thermal plant in Pililla, Rizal in the next few weeks,” said AC Energy President and CEO Eric Francia.
“We have another 276 MW of renewables capacity under construction in the Philippines, with plans to double this capacity before the end of the year.”
The company has also carried out the construction of various RE projects including the 4MW Bataan RE Tech Hub, the 40 MW Alaminos Battery Storage in Laguna, the 72 MW Arayat-Mexico Solar in Pampanga, and the 160 MW GigaWind in Ilocos Norte. These RE projects, the company said, are critical additions to the energy space as a disruptive power shortage persists.
“In further augmenting our generating capacity amidst the pandemic, we were able to build a solid platform from which we can continue our rapid renewables acceleration in the region, while also helping the country to ‘build back better’,” said Jose Maria Zabaleta, AC Energy’s Chief Development Officer. “We were able to create jobs and help build economic resilience while playing a significant role in aiding the country’s energy security.” The company has integrated a circular approach in the solar farm’s construction site, with 32,540 kilograms of plastic waste already upcycled into eco-bricks and utilized in building the solar plant facilities.
GigaSol Alaminos also features a Tree Nursery, with a target to produce 120,000 seedlings in three years and is also surrounded by Ayala Land’s Carbon Forest, a woodland reserve that acts as a carbon trap and home to biodiversity.
Plans to develop an Eco-Learning Facility where students and other visitors can gain knowledge about renewable energy and sustainability are underway. AC Energy envisions to recreate this pilot Sustainability Hub to fulfill its goal of protecting the environment, creating jobs to reignite the economy, and engaging its host communities meaningfully while creating clean energy.
“AC Energy’s robust line up of projects allows it to play an integral role in the green-led recovery, which is especially critical as the economy gradually reopens and demand for power picks up. AC Energy is in an excellent position to attain its vision of reaching 5,000 MW of renewables by 2025 and realize its aspiration of becoming the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia,” added Francia.
The company recently announced its divestment from biomass power companies in Negros to focus on solar and wind power projects.
ACEN’s joint venture with the Zabaleta group, Negros Island Biomass Holdings Inc., signed agreements to divest its shareholdings in three biomass-fired power plants in Visayas. NIBH will sell its equity stake to its partner, Singapore-based ThomasLloyd CTI Asia Holdings Pte Ltd.
