September 21, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Ayala-led ACEN Corp. is making significant strides in the construction of the 600-megawatt (MW) Monsoon Wind project in Laos, which is set to become one of the largest wind farms in Southeast Asia.
The company and its joint venture partners are spending $1 billion to develop the first wind power project in Laos.
“With 100 of 133 turbines already installed, this groundbreaking project is harnessing Lao PDR’s (People’s Democratic Republic) vast wind potential to help drive the region toward its decarbonization goals,” ACEN said.
The project is a partnership with BCPG Public Co. Ltd., Impact Electrons Siam Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp., SMP Consultation and STP&I Public Co. Ltd., with ACEN taking an economic stake of about 24 percent.
The Monsoon Wind development targeted for commercial operations next year is poised to become the first cross-border renewable energy (RE) project in the region, ACEN said.
The electricity generated by the project will be exported to Vietnam and will be sold through a power purchase agreement with state-owned power distributor Vietnam Electricity.
To trigger this cross-border deal, the project involves the development of a 500-kilovolt-transmission line stretching the southern provinces of Sekong and Attapeu in Laos, a vital artery to connect the two countries.
The wind farm, as reported by The Laotian Times, is expected to begin trial operations by December, two months earlier than the initial schedule of February 2025.
ACEN, through ACEN Renewables International Pte. Ltd., earlier signed the financing documents for the non-recourse project funding for Monsoon Wind.
It will be co-financed by Asian Development Bank as lead arranger, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, Japan International Corp. Agency, Export-Import Bank of Thailand, Hong Kong Mortgage Corp. Ltd., Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Kasikornbank and Siam Commercial Bank.
ACEN, the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group, currently has a portfolio of operating and under-construction wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of 902 MW in Vietnam and Laos.
Aiming to be the largest listed renewables platform in the region, the company has embarked on an ambitious target of quadrupling its attributable RE capacity to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
At present, ACEN has about 4.8 GW of attributable RE capacity in operation and under construction, on top of the recently signed agreements and competitive tenders worth over one GW.
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