ACEN Setting Up 1,000-MW Floating Solar Facility At Laguna Lake

Ayala-led ACEN Corp. will put up a 1,000-megawatt floating solar development at the Laguna Lake, deemed to be the biggest in the country’s renewable energy sector.

Photo Insert (L-R): Anabele Natividad, ACEN SVP for development; Eric Francia, ACEN president and CEO; Senando Santiago, LLDA acting general manager; Catherine Buena, LLDA department manager; Emiterio Hernandez, LLDA assistant general manager; and Jun Paul Mistica, LLDA department manager, sign a Renewable Energy Contract Area Utilization (RECAU) agreement with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (Official) to develop ACEN's first large-scale floating solar project on Laguna Lake.

According to the company, the proposed facility will locate in an 800-hectare area within the domain of the freshwater lake.

For this project, ACEN and its subsidiary firms involved already inked a renewable energy contract area utilization (RECAU) agreement with the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) for the lease of the targeted site of the installation.

“Following an invitation to develop floating solar renewable energy projects on Laguna Lake, ACEN, through its subsidiaries, received notices of award from LLDA in July,” the firm said.

It added that “solar energy operating contracts (SEOCs) for eight blocks of 100 hectares each in the southern and eastern sections of the lake have been applied with the Department of Energy.”

ACEN President and CEO Eric Francia said this breakthrough floating solar project “is a tangible opportunity for ACEN to adopt new technologies, contribute to the Luzon grid, and bolster the Philippines’ energy self-sufficiency while tackling the critical issue of climate change.”

There is no definitive commercial operation date (COD) set for the facility yet, but the company chief executive indicated that the signing of an award deal with LLDA is a positive signal for the project getting advanced into implementation.

Francia noted this innovative floating solar investment, “will be a crucial part of ACEN’s master plan to achieve our 2030 goal,” which is primarily in reference to the firm’s 20,000-MW RE capacity portfolio by the turn of the decade.

On the investment cost for the project, he stated that capital outlay is still being firmed up, but the initial numbers portend at least a 20 to 30 percent premium compared to ground-mounted solar installations.

Currently, the capital spend for ground-mounted solar is at $800,000 per megawatt; hence, the rate for floating solar shall factor in the 20 to 30-percent premium. “We’re still finalizing our cost, including transmission cost… rule of thumb, we expect floating solar to have 20 percent premium over ground-mounted solar,” he asserted.

Francia expounded that the cost of floating solar “comes at a premium, except to say that we are sharpening our pencils to make sure that we are on the lower end of that premium, we want to be on the low end, to be as close to 20 percent.”

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