ACEN Australia Pty. Ltd., a unit of Ayala-led ACEN Corp, is on track to become a significant energy player in Australia by 2030, a company official said.
“ACEN is on track to become a significant player in Australia’s energy market,” Killian Wentrup, ACEN Australia’s head of development, said in a statement 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.
“This positions us to deliver fully green, fully firmed electricity to any customer in the NSW market, supporting Australia’s ambitious goal of reaching 82% renewables by 2035,” said Wentrup.
The company’s 900-megawatt Robbins Island Wind project in Tasmania secured federal government approval on Friday, a major step toward unlocking one of the largest private investments in the state’s history.
The Au$3-billion development is expected to power up to 500,000 homes, create up to 400 construction jobs and inject more than Au$30 million annually into the Tasmanian economy. The project also includes a Au$27-million community benefits program for the circular head region.
The transmission line to connect the project to the grid is following a separate approvals process, which is anticipated to be completed in 2026, allowing the project to begin generating power in 2030.
ACEN Australia managing director David Pollington said the milestone was a key achievement for the company and important for the Tasmanian economy, Australia’s energy transition and the broader renewable energy industry.
“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,” he said.
“It comes at a time when Australia faces a stalling energy transition and looming power shortages as coal exits the system. It also reflects the depth and rigor of ACEN’s work to address the assessment criteria and scrutiny applied through the approvals process,” he said.
Jose Maria Eduardo Pons Zabaleta, executive chairman of ACEN Australia, said the Philippines could learn from Australia’s move to ensure transmission and energy storage readiness for renewable energy projects.
“One area where Australia might allow us to learn from and apply to the Philippines is the planning and enabling of the transmission and energy storage system needed now and into the future,” Zabaleta said. “There can be no successful energy transition and self sufficiency without new transmission and energy storage capacity,” he said.
