AC Energy (ACEN) announced that its 63-megawatt (MW) Gigasol Palauig solar farm in Zambales has begun operations and is seen to supply power to the Luzon Grid. 

The Ayala-led firm said the Php2.39 billion facility will generate over 90 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of clean power to support the country’s power demand. 

“The Palauig solar farm is the first of AC Energy’s five new plants to begin operating in 2021, making it quite an exciting year for the company’s Philippine operations,” ACEN Chief Development Officer Jose Maria Zabaleta said in a statement.

AC Energy has also started the construction of its 72MW solar farm in Arayat and Mexico, Pampanga — a 50-50 joint venture with Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC). ACEN and CREC hope to launch the Php2.72 billion facility and supply power to the Luzon by the summer 2022.

“We are also very excited about the Arayat-Mexico project, which is our first venture with CREC. Our collaboration over the past 18 months has been very successful, and we look forward to growing that in the years to come,” Zabaleta added. 

ACEN’s Central Luzon developments are part of the company’s latest renewables growth strategy.

“These new plants can help offset some supply shortfalls in recent months, and help to reduce the elevated prices seen in the market caused by these shortages,” Zabaleta said.

The company recently reported an increase of over 2,800% in its net income for 2020 despite the economic slowdown stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, its investments for the year generated 3,000 jobs.

AC Energy has also expanded its portfolio and augmented its generating capacity with the construction of two new solar plants, battery storage, and firming facilities in Luzon. Currently, the firm has over 1,000MW of attributable capacity in the Philippines, with almost half coming from renewable sources.