ACEN gets P34 billion green loan for wind project

MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. has secured a P34.41-billion green loan from a consortium of local banks to partially finance its massive onshore wind project across Laguna and Quezon.

ACEN, along with its subsidiaries, has signed a senior green term loan facility with Bank of the Philippine Islands, BDO Unibank Inc. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp.

The listed energy firm and ACEN Global Development Group acted as sponsors, share security grantors and guarantors, while Giga Ace 6 Inc. (GA6) served as the borrower, mortgagor and grantor.

The green loan, facilitated by BDO Trust Investment Group, will provide much-needed financial clout for the development of GA6’s P70-billion Quezon North Onshore Wind Power Project, formerly Isla Wind.

With a total capacity of 553 megawatts (MW), the wind facility straddles Mauban and Real in Quezon as well as Paete and Kalayaan in Laguna.

Quezon North Wind is being constructed in phases, with Phase 1 slated for completion by the fourth quarter of 2026 and Phase 2 expected to follow by end-2027 or early 2028.

Upon full completion, the project is estimated to generate about 1,730 gigawatt (GW)-hours of clean power annually, according to ACEN data.

The wind farm is strategically located close to another ACEN project in Quezon, the 500-MW facility of Real Wind Energy Inc.

These wind projects are envisioned to position Quezon as a new renewable energy hub in the Philippines.

In another development, ACEN has extended a P350-million term loan facility to its unit Amihan Renewable Energy Corp. (AREC) to fund its working capital requirements.

AREC oversees the 70-MW Capa Wind, ACEN’s fourth wind project in Ilocos Norte that is expected to power at least 60,000 homes per year and provide over 300 local jobs during the construction stage.

Awarded during the government’s first green energy auction round, Capa Wind is targeted for activation this year.

For 2025, ACEN has programmed a capital spending of about P70 billion to fuel its growth and further strengthen its clean energy portfolio.

As the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, the company wants to scale up its attributable renewables capacity to 20 GW by 2030 from its current portfolio of seven GW.