THE Board of Investments (BoI) recently granted a green lane endorsement to ACEN's solar power farm, SanMar Solar, which is due to start operations late this year and help boost the country's clean energy capacity. Located in a 500-hectare land in San Marcelino, Zambales, that used to be covered in lahar, SanMar Solar, a project of ACEN subsidiary Santa Cruz Solar Energy Inc., is being developed in three phases. Phases 1 and 2 are under way, with commercial operations anticipated this third quarter. The last phase will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2025. The project is expected to generate a maximum 587-megawatt peak of solar energy once fully operational, employ 2,000 skilled workers, with Phases 1 and 2 alone requiring a workforce of 3,600. BoI executive director Bobby Fondevilla presented the Green Lane Certificate of Endorsement to Anabele Natividad, ACEN senior vice president for development, at the ACEN office on August 29. "We are deeply grateful for BoI's green lane endorsement, which will significantly expedite the processes and requirements for SanMar Solar and enable us to meet our project timeline," Natividad said. "This support reinforces our commitment to ongoing collaboration with the government to accelerate the nation's transition to renewable energy." The BoI said ACEN would prefer not to disclose the project's investment cost. SanMar Solar is the eighth green lane project of ACEN, the Ayala Group's energy platform. A green lane endorsement signifies the government's support in streamlining processes for strategic investments as mandated by Executive Order 18. As of August, BoI's One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments has certified a total of 115 projects under green lane initiative, representing P3.204 trillion in investments. According to the BoI, ACEN's expansion of its renewable energy portfolio aligns with the country's decarbonization goals and meet the increasing demand for clean energy. The company also aims to increase its renewable energy capacity to 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2030. ACEN is the publicly listed energy arm of the Ayala Group with its presence expanding across the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR and the United States. The company currently manages a substantial 4.8 GW of attributable renewable energy capacity, both operational and under construction. The company's domestic assets include 1,850 megawatts of solar, wind and geothermal capacity.
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