MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, aims to invest more in storage as it switched on the country’s first hybrid solar and energy storage project.
The pilot 40-megawatt (MW) energy storage project located in Alaminos, Laguna will allow ACEN to evaluate opportunities to store energy more effectively across its portfolio, the company said in a statement yesterday.
The P2.2 billion project aims to provide a sustainable and reliable energy source for the country. The 2x20-MW energy storage facility is adjacent to ACEN’s 120-MW Alaminos solar farm.
It is configured to help manage internal electricity demands, store electricity when the solar plant is generating power but demand is low, and provide rapid power charging when the demand is high. It will also provide ancillary services to the national grid.
“We are delighted to start the operations of ACEN’s very first battery energy storage project,” ACEN president and CEO Eric Francia said.
The facility holds 24 battery containers, enough to power about 20,000 homes.
ACEN chief development officer Jose Maria Zabaleta said the company is taking advantage of battery storage technology’s fast response, scalability and ease of integration into its renewable projects.
“With the Alaminos Energy Storage project, we can harness renewable energy more effectively amid its variability while improving the operating capabilities of the grid and ensuring high reliability,” he said.
The Ayala group previously announced plans to explore the development of energy storage technology to complement its renewable energy projects.
ACEN and its partner AMI Renewables are also planning to put up a pilot battery energy storage system in Khanh Hoa, Vietnam, adjacent to their existing 50-MW solar plant.
The company has over 3,000 MW of attributable capacity across Asia- Pacific, with 18,000 MW in its pipeline of renewables projects being developed organically and with its various partners across the region.
The Alaminos Solar and Storage hybrid facility is notable for its pioneering Sustainability Hub, where the plant is surrounded by Ayala Land’s Carbon Forest, a woodland reserve that acts as a carbon trap and home to biodiversity.
A plastic recycling facility has also been integrated to pilot the circular approach, diverting plastic waste from landfills to be upcycled into eco-bricks and to be used in building facilities within the plant.