ACEN secures P5-B loan for operations

ACEN Corp., the listed energy arm of the Ayala Group, has secured a financial grant of P5 billion from the Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. that would help sustain its operations amid an renewable energy footprint expansion.

The company informed the stock exchange on Monday that the Metrobank loan will be used for general corporate purposes, including but not limited to capital expenditures for renewable energy projects.

20,000 MW by end 2023

ACEN has committed to augment its renewable energy development rollout to end 2030 with 20,000 megawatts of capacity across its global portfolio.

ACEN president Eric Francia had already conveyed that the company will aim to double its yearly 1,000-MW target to 2,000 MW.

In the Philippines alone, the company is targeting to build 8,000 MW of renewable energy in 2030 to help augment clean energy take-up in the country's energy mix.

Under the updated Philippine Energy Development Plan, the government is gunning to increase the share of renewable energy in the country's total energy mix to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040. Last year, renewable energy only took up 22.8 percent of the total mix.

Incremental capex of $7 billion

However, in supporting its massive expansion plans, Francia noted that the company may need to secure an incremental capital expenditure of $7 billion, or approximately P338.36 billion, to cover the entire 20,000 MW goal.

For this year, ACEN has earmarked P70 billion to finance its annual operations.

ACEN ended 2022 with over 4,000 MW of net attributable capacity, with 98 percent coming from renewable technologies across its key markets in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.