ACEN eyes P15.8-B energy storage system in Zambales solar park

Ayala-led ACEN Corp. plans to spend P15.8 billion to boost its largest solar farm in the Philippines with a 2,000-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS).

In an application filed at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, ACEN, through its unit San Marcelino Solar Power, said the planned BESS would improve the stability of power supply at its plant in Zambales.

The San Marcelino solar park has an installed capacity of 585 megawatts (MW), enough to energize more than 120,000 homes.

If ACEN gets government clearance for the BESS, construction works will start in the third quarter of 2026. Project completion is slated for the latter part of next year.

Commercial operations are expected to start in early 2028.

The BESS will be deployed within the site of the solar farm. It will store energy harvested from the sun during daytime.

“Using the stored energy, the BESS can supply power to the grid when supply from the solar plant is inadequate or during peak demand (or outage), when most needed,” the firm said.

Company president and CEO Eric Francia earlier said ACEN would keep investing in energy storage systems to complement the expansion of its solar portfolio here and abroad.

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Spending more

For 2026, the company will spend more than P80 billion, significantly higher than last year’s P55 billion, as ACEN hopes to hit its 5,000-megawatt (MW) operational capacity by year-end.

About 75 percent of the earmarked investment would go for its Philippine operations, with several solar and wind plants in the pipeline.

Currently, it has about 7,000 MW of attributable renewable energy capacity spanning projects in operation, under construction and with signed agreements.