AYALA-LED ACEN Corp. is actively searching for partners with technical expertise to support the event of offshore wind projects within the Philippines, its president said.
“We’ll need partners for those because we don’t have the expertise. So, if and after we do offshore wind projects, we can have to do it with a strategic/technical partner,” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia told reporters last week.
While the corporate is exploring the technology, Mr. Francia said it might probably take greater than five years before the corporate “might be comfortable attending to financial investment decisions.”
“We’re also exploring potential partnerships as our path to market. We won’t only rely upon our own organic projects but we’re also whether we are able to partner within the offshore wind space to find a way to participate sooner than we otherwise would have,” he said.
Data from the Department of Energy (DoE) showed that the corporate has a planned offshore wind power project spanning Bataan, Cavite, and Batangas, with a goal installed capability 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 capability of 1,024 MW under Giga Ace 12, Inc., and one other 1,024 MW in Batangas under Giga Ace 7, Inc.
To this point, the federal government has awarded a complete of 92 offshore wind service contracts with a possible capability of around 69 gigawatts (GW).
The DoE sees offshore wind playing a transformative role within the Philippines’ goal of accelerating the renewable energy share in the ability 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 capability across operational, under-construction, and committed projects.
The energy company’s presence spans the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the USA.
ACEN is targeting an expansion of its attributable renewables capability to twenty GW by 2030.
“It’s an aggressive goal, though we consider that we have now the precise elements to succeed. We’ve a robust balance sheet, robust pipeline, strong partnerships, and a highly energized organization,” Mr. Francia said. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
