ACEN Corp. plans to increase its renewable energy investments in Australia to Au$6 billion in three years for an additional 3 gigawatts (GW) of capacity.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Philippine company now has Au$2-billion investment in Australia.
“They have a large presence in New England region, in Tasmania, as well as investment coming in Western Australia in the Pilbara,” Albanese said.
“They expect that investment to increase to Au$6 billion in three years—a substantial investment in Australian renewables, putting online something like 3 GW of additional capacity in the Australian energy market. A significant company which is making a difference and wants to make more of a difference,” he said.
Albanese concluded a bilateral visit to the Philippines on Sept. 8, the first Australian leader to do so in 20 years.
He briefly met with ACEN president and chief executive Eric Francia at the sidelines of the Australia-Philippine strategic partnership signing ceremony at Malacanang Palace.
Francia reiterated to Albanese the company’s commitment to expanding in Australia.
“ACEN fully supports Australia’s energy transition, and the company is gearing up to triple its Australia investments in the next three years,” Francia said.
ACEN is a significant participant in the Australian electricity market with over 1,000 MW of solar capacity in operations and under construction in New South Wales.
“ACEN appreciates the government’s efforts to augment the much-needed transmission capacity to enable the growth of renewables. Our projects are particularly reliant on the Central West Orana renewable energy zone and the Marinus link transmission projects, among others,” Francia said.
The Albanese administration is rolling out the Au$20-billion Rewiring the Nation Plan to upgrade and modernize the electricity grid and enable significant growth in renewables capacity.
The bilateral meeting was highlighted by the signing of a strategic partnership with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The new strategic partnership establishes an enduring framework for closer cooperation with the Philippines, one of Australia’s key partners in Southeast Asia, based on a strong alignment of strategic interests.
It is in line with Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which the Prime Minister launched in his recent visit to Jakarta.
The strategy encompasses mutual trade and investment opportunities in key sectors such as agriculture and food, education and skills, resources and the clean energy transition.