Ayala-backed ACEN Corp., through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ACEN Australia, has signed a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, with SmartestEnergy.

ACEN said on Tuesday that the agreement will kick off purchasing renewable electricity generated from the first stage of ACEN Australia’s New England Solar project in New South Wales.

The eight-year agreement will provide SmartestEnergy with a significant portion of the output from the 400 MW Stage 1 project, reducing the electricity demand produced through more emission-intensive means.

David Pollington, managing director of ACEN Australia, emphasized the importance of this agreement as a milestone for the company’s initial project. He highlighted the project’s substantial contribution to the National Electricity Market or NEM.

Clean energy future

“We have a bold strategy to help Australia transition to a clean energy future, and we are excited by this first offtake with SmartestEnergy, enabling us to bring more renewable energy projects to life and clean electricity for Australian homes and businesses,” Pollington said.

The first stage of the 400-MW New England Solar project, has been successfully constructed with the contribution of host landowners, First Nations people, and the Uralla community, marking ACEN Australia’s initial operational project.

Upon reaching full development, the expansive 720-megawatt project will emerge as one of Australia’s largest solar ventures contributing to the National Electricity Market.

Its primary objective is to provide a substantial infusion of clean renewable energy, sufficient to meet the power demands of approximately 300,000 average Australian households.

In another report, ACEN said it suffered a 43 percent slump in net income last year, which only clocked in at P7.4 billion. The company attributed the decline to “P8.6-billion accounting adjustments from various events during that period.”

Notably, excluding the impact of the said noncash items, ACEN’s profitability would have shown a significant 150 percent year-on-year increase, primarily driven by a substantial threefold surge in core operating earnings.

Attributable capacity

ACEN’s attributable capacity exceeds 4.7 GW as of the end of 2023, with 99 percent of that amount coming from renewable sources.

Of this capacity, 37 percent is currently fully operational, 28 percent is partially operating, and 35 percent is still under construction.