ACEN Corp, the renewable energy platform of Philippines conglomerate Ayala Corporation, has loaned PHP9 billion (US$144 million) to subsidiaries within the group for renewable energy and battery storage projects. In transactions disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippine Stock Exchange on 3 September, ACEN Corporation said it executed two short-term loan agreements with its wholly owned subsidiaries.
The first agreement lends project developer subsidiary GIGA ACE 8 up to PHP3.24 billion to support construction of Palauig 2, a 300MWdc solar PV project including transmission and substation infrastructure. Palauig 2 joins the existing 65MW Palauig 1 plant completed in 2021 in Zambales, Central Luzon, an area with some of the highest solar irradiance in the Philippines. The second PHP6 billion loan agreement was signed with subsidiary Sanmar Solar to support construction of the SanMar Battery Energy Storage System Project, a 500MW/1,000MWh BESS at the site of the existing 585MW SanMar Solar plant, also in Zambales.
The loans reinforce ACEN's stated ambition to turn Zambales into one of the country's largest renewable energy hubs. In July, the company said the SanMar Solar and Palauig Solar projects would sit alongside 775MW/1,660MWh of BESS projects now under construction in the province. The Philippines remains ACEN's largest market by far, with the company reporting a 17% year-on-year increase in renewable energy generation and a 41% increase in revenues in the Philippines in its H1 2026 results.
What remains unknown is the specific repayment terms, interest rates, or maturity dates of the short-term loans, which were not detailed in the disclosed transactions. The dossier also does not specify the current total cost of Palauig 2, though ACEN said in 2023 that the project would require a 1,200MW transmission line with an estimated total cost of PHP16 billion at the time.