ACEN drops two solar projects in Quezon and Zambales over site constraints

ACEN Corp. will no longer pursue two solar power projects in Quezon and Zambales due to land acquisition and access issues. The company surrendered the service contracts, but said the cancellations have no impact on operations as neither project had started construction.

ACEN Corp., the listed energy arm of the Ayala group, will no longer pursue two solar power projects in Quezon and Zambales due to land acquisition and site access constraints.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Monday, the energy company said its subsidiaries had surrendered the solar operating service contracts covering the projects. Abagat Energy Corp. held a service contract for a proposed 336-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Pagbilao, Quezon, but ACEN said the project would no longer proceed due to challenges in acquiring land.

SolarAce2 Energy Corp. held the service contract for a proposed 120-MW solar farm in Botolan, Zambales, which the company said would no longer proceed due to site access constraints. ACEN said the cancellation of the contracts would have no impact on its operations because neither project had started construction or commercial operations.

The company currently has 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of attributable renewable energy capacity across the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Laos, and the United States. ACEN is targeting 8 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity by the end of the year, with more than 1 GW expected to enter construction across its regional portfolio.

The company has earmarked more than P80 billion in capital expenditures this year for renewable energy projects. For the first six months of the year, ACEN’s attributable net income increased more than fivefold to P3.9 billion from P763 million in the same period last year. Revenue rose 47.1 per cent to P23.13 billion from P15.72 billion a year earlier.

At the local bourse on Monday, ACEN shares fell 2.44 per cent to close at P2.80 apiece.