ACEN Continues To Ramp Up Investments In Renewable Energy Amid Global Challenges

AC Energy (ACEN) is leading the way in the energy transition, having announced a bold aspiration to reach 20 GW of attributable renewables capacity by 2030. In a news article from the end of 2022, it was reported that the company had welcomed the new year with renewed optimism, as the world was reopening and they saw the opportunity to prime themselves for a post-pandemic economic recovery. ACEN had ramped up investments in renewable energy in anticipation of heightened electricity demand. However, the positive momentum was quickly challenged by geopolitical events, particularly the war in Ukraine, which caused shock waves in the global energy market and triggered high fossil fuel prices and energy security issues. This exacerbated existing global supply chain challenges that led to delays in the completion of some projects.

Despite the challenges, ACEN continued to execute its renewables expansion across key markets in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. The company concluded the year with over 4,000 MW of net attributable capacity, with 98 per cent coming from renewable technologies. The Philippines remains ACEN’s core market, accounting for 40 per cent of the company’s generation portfolio. Overseas, Australia is its largest market, comprising 25% of its generation portfolio.

ACEN completed the full divestment of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation coal plant using the Energy Transition Mechanism framework, the first of its kind in the world. This landmark transaction will enable the early retirement and transition to a clean technology of the 246 MW coal plant in Batangas by 2040, reducing its operating life of up to 50 years by half and avoiding up to 50 million metric tons of carbon emissions. The transaction generated ₱7.2 billion in proceeds, which will be reinvested into renewable energy projects.

The company issued its maiden peso-denominated Green Bonds amounting to ₱10 billion to finance over 500 MW of solar projects in the Philippines. ACEN ended the year with a net DE ratio of 0.2, which provides ample capacity to fund new investments.

ACEN recognizes that reaching the Net Zero outcome for the power sector will require both emissions reduction and neutralization of residual emissions. As part of its transition plan, ACEN aims to deliver reduction-led decarbonization by 2040, with an interim target for 2030, and a Net Zero status by 2050.

The global energy crisis has accelerated the demand for governments and businesses to adopt a sustainable development strategy, pushing renewable energy to an unprecedented level of importance. ACEN is excited to play a leading role in this historic shift towards a low-carbon future.