19 Dec ACEN to build major wind farm in New South Wales, Australia
AYALA-LED ACEN Corp. has secured a contract to construct a 936-megawatt (MW) wind power project in New South Wales, Australia.
“The Australian government actually bid out capacity contracts to enable renewables… we were the [largest] [at] 936 MW. This is in Central-West Orana, a renewable energy zone (REZ),” ACEN President and Chief Executive Officer Eric T. Francia told reporters on Monday.
ACEN’s Valley of the Winds is among the 19 projects selected as part of a national tender process for Australia’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
It was “the biggest project” awarded a CIS agreement to date, the company said.
Slated for completion by 2030, the project is expected to provide power supply to 500,000 homes per year and create 500 jobs during the construction phase.
While the Philippine government runs a program called Green Energy Auction, Australia has a similar initiative through the CIS, which conducts competitive tenders to select projects that provide the best financial value.
In a statement, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy said that the 19 renewable energy projects will add 6.4 GW of clean energy to the National Electricity Market.
The Central-West Orana REZ, where the Valley of the Winds would be located, spans approximately 20,000 square kilometers, according to the NSW Australian government.
It is expected to initially unlock at least 4.5 GW of new network capacity by the late 2020s.
In February, ACEN’s subsidiary ACEN Australia announced that it had secured a total of A$150 million (approximately P5.5 billion) in green term loans from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp., with each bank providing A$75 million.
The green term loan represents the company’s commitment to the Australian market, where more than one GW is already in operation and under construction, with an additional development pipeline of more than eight GW in renewables, it said.
ACEN, the listed energy platform of Ayala Corp., boasts a portfolio of about 6.8 GW of attributable renewable capacity in operation, under construction, and committed projects.
The company operates across a diverse range of markets, including the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera