Ayala energy arm looks to SEA market

AC Energy Holdings Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer John Eric Francia said the programmed capital expenditures will be used mainly for the construction of thermal plants in the country, and some prospective investments in Vietnam. (Photo: AC Energy/Facebook)

MANILA — The energy business arm of conglomerate Ayala Corp. (AC) aims to spend around USD 300 million in power ventures in the Philippines and Vietnam this year, as it expands presence in Southeast Asian markets.

AC Energy Holdings Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer John Eric Francia said the programmed capital expenditures will be used mainly for the construction of thermal plants in the country, and some prospective investments in Vietnam.

Francia said equity investment could increase once his business group becomes successful in terms of closing more projects. “We will continue to grow in the Philippines but if we want consistent double-digit (growth), we need to go beyond Philippines,” he told Philippines News Agency on the sidelines of the conglomerate’s stockholders’ meeting on Friday.

AC Energy has an ambitious target to double its capacity to 2,000 megawatts (MW) by 2020, of which 1,000 MW will come from renewable sources. It targets capacity to reach over 5,000 MW by 2025. It currently has over 1,600 megawatts of attributable capacity, of which 1,400 MWs come from power projects in the Philippines and 200 MWs overseas.

Francia said they expect to start the commercial operations of power projects in Mindanao this year; and the two units of GN Power Dinginin Ltd. Co. coal plant in Bataan in 2019 and 2020. “In 2018, 2019, 2020, we will going to have new thermal plants coming online,” he said.

As it expands its overseas footprint, Francia further said the group currently is focusing on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, particularly in Vietnam “where we are ahead in terms of experience in solar and wind for example so we can really put that capability at work.” With its partner the BIM group, AC Energy has just broken ground on the first phase of a 300-megawatt solar project in the Ninh Thuan province in Vietnam.

“We see a lot of opportunities around the region especially in countries where governments are really pushing for more capacity and for renewables as well,” said Francia.

Meanwhile, AC Energy holds a 20-percent interest in the 637-MW West Java geothermal assets in Salak-Darajat, which it acquired from Chevron in Indonesia. It is also developing Indonesia’s first utility-scale wind farm in Sidrap. “And then, I think we are still hopeful to expand in Indonesia and more renewables in the Philippines as well,” he said.