ACEN seeks partners for offshore wind projects

AYALA-LED ACEN Corp. is actively seeking partners with technical expertise to support the development of offshore wind projects in the Philippines, its president said.

“We will need partners for those because we don’t have the expertise. So, if and when we do offshore wind projects, we will have to do it with a strategic/technical partner,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia told reporters last week.

While the company is exploring the technology, Mr. Francia said it would probably take more than five years before the company “can be comfortable getting to financial investment decisions.”

“We’re also exploring potential partnerships as our route to market. We will not only depend on our own organic projects but we’re also looking at whether we can partner in the offshore wind space to be able to participate earlier than we otherwise would have,” he said.

Data from the Department of Energy (DoE) showed that the company has a planned offshore wind power project spanning Bataan, Cavite, and Batangas, with a target installed capacity of 1,248 megawatts (MW) under its subsidiary GigaWind 5, Inc.

ACEN also holds service contracts to develop an offshore wind farm in Cagayan with a capacity of 1,024 MW under Giga Ace 12, Inc., and another 1,024 MW in Batangas under Giga Ace 7, Inc.

To date, the government has awarded a total of 92 offshore wind service contracts with a potential capacity of around 69 gigawatts (GW).

The DoE sees offshore wind playing a transformative role in the Philippines’ target of increasing the renewable energy share in the power mix to 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.

ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala group, currently holds 7 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity across operational, under-construction, and committed projects.

The energy company’s presence spans the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States.

ACEN is targeting an expansion of its attributable renewables capacity to 20 GW by 2030.

“It is an aggressive goal, though we believe that we have the right elements to succeed. We have a strong balance sheet, robust pipeline, strong partnerships, and a highly energized organization,” Mr. Francia said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera