ACEN Corp., the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, has pledged to increase its investments in Australia’s renewable energy (RE) market to AU$6 billion in 3 years.
“I met Eric Francia, the CEO of ACEN, an energy company focusing on renewables. They currently have AU$2 billion of investment in Australia. They have a large presence in New England region, in Tasmania, as well as investment coming in Western Australia in the Pilbara.
They expect that investment to increase to AU$6 billion in three years—a substantial investment in Australian renewables, putting online something like 3 gigawatts of additional capacity,” said Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during his visit to the Philippines last September 8.
The highlight of the meeting was the signing of a strategic partnership between Albanese and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The new strategic partnership establishes an enduring framework for closer cooperation with the Philippines, one of Australia’s key partners in Southeast Asia, based on a strong alignment of strategic interests.
At the sidelines of the signing ceremony at Malacañang Palace, Albanese briefly met with Francia.
Francia reiterated the company’s commitment to expand in Australia. “ACEN fully supports Australia’s energy transition, and the company is gearing up to triple its Australia investments in the next three years.”
ACEN is a significant participant in the Australian electricity market with over 1,000 megawatts of solar capacity in operations and under construction in New South Wales.
“ACEN appreciates the government’s efforts to augment the much-needed transmission capacity to enable the growth of renewables. Our projects are particularly reliant on the Central West Orana renewable energy zone and the Marinus link transmission projects, among others,” Francia added.
The Albanese government is currently rolling out the AU$20-billion Rewiring the Nation Plan to upgrade and modernize the electricity grid and enable significant growth in renewables capacity.
The strategic partnership comes on the back of Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which the Prime Minister launched during his recent visit to Jakarta. It encompasses mutual trade and investment opportunities in key sectors such as agriculture and food, education and skills, resources, and the clean energy transition.