ACEN, Bright Night set up joint venture

ACEN Corp. has expanded its partnership with US-based Bright Night LLC via the development of up to one gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy (RE) projects in the Philippines.

Both companies have set up a joint venture, Paivatar Energy Corp., and signed a shareholders and investment agreement last March 7, ACEN said on Sunday.

The agreement was “for the ownership and management of Paivatar as the designated renewable energy platform for the development, construction, and operation of utility-scale renewable energy projects in the Philippines.”

The partnership, ACEN added, aims to develop a 1-GW renewable power portfolio in the country with an estimated capital deployment of $1.2 billion over the next five years.

This will be BrightNight and ACEN’s second partnership after a collaboration in India last year.

ACEN said its investment would provide BrightNight with additional resources to fund the latter’s buildout in the Philippines and long-term growth in one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia.

“The success of our joint projects in India … serves as a solid foundation for our venture in the Philippines,” ACEN Group Chief Investment Officer Patrice Clausse said.

BrightNight CEO Martin Hermann, meanwhile, said “ACEN Corporation’s leadership in the Philippines’ renewables sector is unparalleled, and we are honored they have chosen to form a partnership with us.”

The partnership underscores ACEN’s strategy to lead the renewable energy transition within the region, the Ayala-led energy firm said.

BrightNight is a US-based global renewable integrated power company with customers across the US and Asia-Pacific.

ACEN shares were unchanged on Friday at P4.08 each.