AC Energy on target to generate 1000 MW

MANILA, Philippines - AC Energy Holdings Inc., the power investment arm of the Ayala Group, will hit its target of 1,000-megawatt (MW) attributable capacity when it starts building the expansion of the Bataan power plant this year its top official said yesterday.

The company is confident it will be able to meet its target capacity within the year, AC Energy president and CEO Eric Francia said in an interview on the sidelines of the two-day Power & Electricity World Philippines 2016.

Francia said the company would meet its goal when it starts constructing the 2x660- MW coal-fired power plant expansion of the existing Mariveles power station later this year.

“Once we break ground in Mariveles (power plant), we’ll get to our 1,000-MW target,” he said. AC Energy has a 17 percent stake in the expansion of GN Power Mar iveles, after it partnered with USbased

GN Power, owned by Nauruan-American firm Power Partners Ltd. Co. in 2014.

Other investors in GN Power include Sithe Global Power LLC, a company owned by investors of The BlackStone Group. The 1,000-MW target capacity will be a mix of operating and under construction power projects across the country.

“That’s where we’re participating in, both operating and under construction,” Francia said. So far, AC Energy has around 650-700 MW of attributable capacity.

“We’ve participated in about 1,500-MW worth of capacity, not including the Bataan plant expansion. If you include that, it will be over 2,000 MW. Of the 1,500 MW, we are about 650 MW attributable to us,” the company official said.

Operating projects include 2x135-MW coal-fired power plant in Calaca, Batangas under South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC), which is a joint venture with Trans- Asia Oil and Development Corp.

It also includes the 52-MW Northwind Power Development Corp. in Bangui, Ilocos Norte and the 81-MW wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte through its affiliate North Luzon Renewable Energy Corp. (NLREC). It also recently completed an 18-MW solar plant in Negros Oriental, which is a joint undertaking with Bronzeoak Clean Energy Inc. Meanwhile, AC Energy is currently building a 4 x 135- MW coal-fired power plant in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte in Mindanao.

GN Power Kauswagan Ltd. Co. is a limited partnership among AC Energy, the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure (PINAI) and Power Partners Ltd. Co.