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Ayala unit wants telco towers to go solar

ACEN Corp. and Norwegian Investment Fund Norfund are looking at providing solar power to telecom towers in the Philippines.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, ACEN said its executive committee approved the proposed joint venture with Norfund and investment into YMP Telecom Power Inc. for the provision of sustainable and affordable telecom tower solarization in the Philippines.

Norfund is owned and funded by the Norwegian government and is used as a tool for strengthening the private sector in developing countries. It has booked $2.5 billion in total commitments as of 2021.

The company said the terms of the deal are still being finalized.

Under the deal, ACEN and Norfund will invest in Micropower Philippines, the joint venture with YMP. “The business case is for the joint venture to provide solar power to telecom towers owned by telecom companies in the Philippines.”

In the same disclosure, ACEN said the committee approved a one-year extension of the maturing P4.7billion loan facility it provided to Greencore Power Solution 3, its joint venture company with Citicore Solar Energy Corporation for the Arayat Solar project.

The extended loan carries an interest rate of 15 percent from around 7 percent.

Phase1 of the Arayat solar project, with a capacity of 72MW, reached its full capacity in March last year. The second phase of the solar project will increase the plant’s total capacity to 116MW.

In May, the listed energy platform of Ayala Corp. said it is expected to forge more investment deals abroad.

ACEN International CEO Patrice Clausse did not identify these potential deals but said these are with “existing partners.” Lenie Lectura

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