ACEN powers battery storage push with P2.9 billion loan

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp. has locked in P2.93 billion in financing from Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) to ramp up its battery storage expansion in Zambales.

In a stock exchange filing yesterday, ACEN said its subsidiary Palauig Solar 1 Inc. tapped the country’s oldest bank to support the development of the 140-megawatt-hour (MWh) Palauig 1 battery energy storage system (BESS) project.

The transaction also involved fellow ACEN unit Gigasol 2 Inc. as share collateral grantor and BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp. as collateral trustee. 

The Palauig 1 BESS, which will be built adjacent to and integrated with ACEN’s existing 63-MW Palauig 1 Solar Power Plant, is slated for completion next year.

The BESS project is designed to complement the solar farm by storing excess electricity generated during the day for dispatch in the evening, helping address its intermittency.

Apart from funding the BESS development, a portion of the loan will also be used to refinance or repay advances from shareholders for the construction of the Zambales projects.

The fresh financing comes just weeks after ACEN extended an P850-million loan to Palauig Solar 1 to help fund the development of the Palauig 1 BESS project.

As a leading renewable energy producer in the Philippines, ACEN has over 2,500 MW of capacity in operation and under construction across the country.

It has also grown its presence in international markets, including Australia, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and the United States.

In Australia, the company recently secured a long-term government revenue support contract for its Birriwa Solar, a 600-MW solar farm paired with a 2,400-MWh BESS component.