SYDNEY – ACEN Corp. through its subsidiary, ACEN Australia, is ramping up its plans to complete additional renewable energy projects, and become a “significant player” in Australia’s energy market by 2030.
“ACEN is on track to become a significant player in Australia’s energy market,” Killian Wentrup, ACEN Australia head of development, told reporters over the weekend.
“ By 2030, with projects like Valley of the Winds, Birriwa solar and battery hybrid and our Phoenix pumped hydro development, we will have built several gigawatts of solar, wind, and firming capacity, ”he said.
The Valley of the Winds project, a 900 megawatts (MW) capacity facility, and the Birriwa solar, which has a 600 MW AC, as well as the Phoenix pumped hydro project (800 MW), were among the projects that the company is currently developing in Australia. When completed, these projects have a combined capacity of 2, 300 MW.
“This positions us to deliver fully green, fully firmed electricity to any customer in the New South Wales market, supporting Australia’s ambitious goal of reaching 82 percent renewables by 2035,” Wentrup added.
ACEN Australia’s existing RE power plants in operation are the 400 MW AC New England Solar 1 and the 400 MW AC Stubbo solar.
The company reiterated that the push for RE is driven by the Australian government’s plans to close all its coal-fired power plants by 2038.
ACEN Australia added that it has secured federal government approval for its planned 900 MW Robbins Island wind project in Tasmania.
The company said the project worth AUD3 billion, is expected to generate enough power for up to 500,000 homes, create up to 400 construction jobs, and deliver more than AUD30 million annually into the Tasmanian economy, alongside a AUD27 million community benefits program.
“The decision shows that large, complex projects can be delivered responsibly, balancing overall impacts and conserving biodiversity, with the need for clean energy to address climate change,” David Pollington, ACEN Australia managing director said.
“It comes at a time when Australia faces a stalling energy transition and looming power shortages as coal exits the system,” he said. “ It also reflects the depth and rigour of ACEN’s work to address the assessment criteria and scrutiny applied through the approvals process.”
ACEN, as a group, aims to increase its RE capacity to 20,000 MW by 2030 to help provide clean, reliable and affordable energy to more people, and to also become a Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions company by 2050.
Apart from the Philippines and Australia, ACEN also has energy projects in Vietnam, Lao PDR, the United States of America, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Taiwan.
