AboitizPower aims for bigger share of renewables in 10-year target

March 29, 2021 | 12:07 am
https://www.bworldonline.com/aboitizpower-aims-for-bigger-share-of-renewables-in-10-year-target/

ABOITIZ POWER Corp. said on Friday that it intends for renewables to have a bigger share in its power generation portfolio in the next 10 years, as the company shifts its focus towards environmental sustainability.

“We will pursue our international aspirations with focus on renewable energy in high-growth geographic markets. Ultimately, we aim to transition our portfolio base into an aspirational target of 50-50 Cleanergy and thermal capacities,” AboitizPower President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel V. Rubio told reporters in a virtual media briefing on Friday.

By the end of 2020, the firm’s Cleanergy portfolio had a share of 21%, while its thermal capacity accounted for 79%. Cleanergy is AboitizPower’s brand for clean and renewable energy (RE).

Mr. Rubio explained that the firm was committed to growing its Cleanergy portfolio to “support the government’s effort in building the country’s renewable energy market to address climate-related risks and to contribute to global sustainability goals.”

He said the firm reached 4,429 megawatts of net attributable capacity by the end of last year after adding the Bataan-based supercritical coal-fired plant GNPower Dinginin Ltd. Co. to its portfolio.

AboitizPower will continue to serve the energy needs of the country by growing its generation portfolio, Mr. Rubio said, but “with a significant shift” to environmental sustainability in the next decade.

The firm’s 10-year target also includes the doubling of its current fleet size, and the selective building of baseload capacities for either coal or gas options.

Mr. Rubio said that AboitizPower’s growth strategy will be underpinned by its digital transformation.

“We are excited about our ‘DigitalLeap’ flagship projects, which include, among others, remote plant operations, the convergence of information and operational technologies; next generation energy trading capabilities; advanced metering infrastructure and digital transformation of our HR processes,” he said.

Last month, AboitizPower said that it had turned to data science and artificial intelligence to accelerate the productivity of its business units in the banking, power, food, infrastructure and real estate segments.

AboitizPower is the listed holding company for the Aboitiz group’s investments in power generation, distribution, retail electricity and other related services. It has ownership interests in nine distribution utilities, which collectively supply electricity to franchise areas in 18 cities and municipalities across the country.

Shares of AboitizPower in the local bourse improved by 2.33% or 55 centavos to finish at P24.20 apiece on Friday. — Angelica Y. Yang