ACEN Corp. has signed a subscription agreement with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Santa Cruz Solar Energy Inc. (SCSEI), involving nearly 500 million shares for a total of P5 billion.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange on Thursday, ACEN will subscribe to 49,997,367 Common A Shares and 449,976,319 Redeemable Preferred A Shares of SCSEI for the total subscription price of P4,999,736,860.00.
“The subscription will be used by SCSEI to fund continuing works for the construction of the ‘San Marcelino Solar Energy Power Plant Project’ (Phases 1 and 2),” ACEN said. SCSEI is developing the solar energy power plant located in San Marcelino, Zambales.
The 283-megawatt (MW) solar farm in San Marcelino, Zambales started construction in 2021. It is said to be the largest solar farm in the country, capable of producing over 421 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year and eliminating 287,796 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
ACEN had said the solar farm is targeted for completion by the first half of 2023, which would help address the potential power shortages in the country as energy demand continues to grow.
The San Marcelino solar farm will feature the latest solar technologies such as east-west oriented panels and string inverters to capture solar radiation more efficiently.
The solar farm sits on approximately 300-hectares of unutilized land covered by lahar, effectively converting the area to a sustainable energy source, and has an expansion potential of up to 700 MW.
ACEN has about 4,000 MW of attributable capacity from owned facilities in the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, and Australia, with a renewable share of 98%, which is among the highest in the region. The company’s aspiration is to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 gigawatts of renewables capacity by 2030.
