ACEN Corporation plans to invest USD 1.5 billion in a massive solar farm and energy storage system as part of its ongoing renewable energy expansion.
In a report by Inquirer, ACEN senior vice president and head of corporate communications and sustainability Irene Manahan said that the midmerit integrated renewables and energy storage system (IRESS) is set to replace the 246-megawatt (MW) South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (SLTEC) coal plant in Batangas, which ACEN aims to retire by 2030.
Funding for the project will partly come from revenues generated through the sale of transition credits, alongside additional financing from partners such as Temasek and Singapore’s Keppel Ltd.
Transition credits are an innovative financing mechanism designed to fund the phaseout of coal plants while supporting renewable energy replacements. ACEN has previously collaborated with the Rockefeller Foundation and the Monetary Authority of Singapore to pioneer this approach.
Maranan added that the IRESS will include a 1,400-megawatt peak (MWp) solar plant integrated with a 1,600 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system.
She also stated that the project is purposefully “oversized” in order to supply stable and accessible power that would stabilize the grid.
To meet its 2030 target for the SLTEC closure—10 years ahead of schedule—construction of IRESS is slated to begin by 2027 or 2028, with project completion anticipated within three to four years.
The ACEN senior vice president added that by 2030, the firm aims to have at least one or two phases operational and supplying power to the grid.
The project’s location has yet to be finalized, and ACEN is coordinating closely with the Department of Energy (DOE) to advance the IRESS plan, though it still awaits a notice from the agency to proceed.
Currently, ACEN has grown its renewable energy capacity to 6.8 gigawatts (GW) and aims to expand it to 20 GW by 2030.
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