AC Energy (ACEN) has announced that it has sealed a joint venture with renewable energy (RE) firm Citicore Power for the building of a solar power plant in Pampanga.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, AC Energy said that it, together with subsidiary ACE Endevor, Inc., Citicore subsidiary Citicore Solar Energy Corporation (CSEC), and Greencore Power Solutions 3, Inc. have signed as Shareholders’ Agreement for the development, construction, and operation of a PV Solar Power Plant in the towns of Arayat and Mexico.
The project would have a nominal capacity of 50 MWac and is scheduled to start operations in November.
Under the deal, CSEC will own 50% of Greencore, which will serve as the project’s corporate vehicle, while ACEN and ACE Endevor will hold 45% and 5% interest, respectively.
The joint venture is part of ACEN’s bid to have 5,000MW in its RE portfolio by 2025 and to become Southeast Asia’s largest listed RE firm. The Ayalas’ power arm also sees the deal as an opportunity to develop a greenfield stand-alone solar farm, which will provide daytime power to the Luzon grid, in partnership with CSEC.
The deal further provides that CSEC would take on the provision of engineering, procurement and construction services thru its affiliated entities, including Megawide Construction Corporation or any of its designated subsidiaries or affiliates for the project.
CSEC would also take on the project’s development, as well as plant operations and maintenance thru Citicore Power or any of its designated subsidiaries or affiliates.
Assuming the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of the increase of Greencore’s authorized capital stock, Greencore will have a total subscribed capital of approximately Php832 million.
In relation to the deal, AC Energy said in a separate disclosure that it has agreed to provide a term loan facility to Greencore worth Php2.68 billion to finance the project’s construction.
On Thursday, the company announced that it wishes to raise up to Php16.4 billion via a follow-on offering hopefully by mid-year as part of plans to generate Php30 billion to fund its projects by yearend.