Site hurdles force ACEN to drop two solar projects

Land acquisition and site-access issues have forced ACEN Corp. to drop two early-stage solar projects in Quezon and Zambales.

In a regulatory disclosure on Monday, ACEN said its subsidiaries, Abagat Energy Corp. and SolarAce2 Energy Corp., voluntarily relinquished their respective Solar Energy Operating Contracts (SEOCs).

Abagat Energy relinquished SEOC No. 2024-08-938 covering an area in Pagbilao, Quezon on 11 September due to “significant land acquisition challenges affecting the project site.”

SolarAce2, meanwhile, gave up SEOC No. 2021-05-582 covering an area in Botolan, Zambales on 17 September due to site access constraints.

ACEN said the cancellations would not materially affect its operations because neither project had advanced to the investment or commercial stage.

“The cancellation of these service/operating contracts has no material effect on ACEN’s operations, as these projects are still in the early stages of development, have not reached a final investment decision, and neither subsidiary has commenced any commercial operations,” ACEN said in the disclosure.

The company ended the first half with an attributable renewable energy portfolio of 7,517 megawatts (MW), of which 57 percent was operational.

In India, attributable generation was steady at 476 gigawatt-hours during the period, while EBITDA rose 31 percent to P764.4 million due to lower operating costs.

ACEN also has four solar, wind, and hybrid projects totaling 1,258 MW under construction in India, with substantial completion targeted by the end of 2027.