ACEN taps more partners for energy shift of PH’s 246 MW coal-fired plant

Transition credits will be used for the initiative.

More companies are joining ACEN in exploring the use of transition credits for the early retirement and replacing the generation output of a 246 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power plant in the Philippines.

In a bourse filing, ACEN said Mitsubishi Corporation and its subsidiary, Diamond Generating Asia, Limited (DGA) are now part of the initiative along with GenZero, and Keppel Ltd.

To mark this development, Mitsubishi and DGA signed a deed of accession to the memorandum of understanding established in 2024 between ACEN, GenZero, and Keppel.

ACEN implemented the world’s first market-based Energy Transition Mechanism, reaching financial close in November 2022. The transaction involved the divestment of the 246 MW South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. (SLTEC) coal plant, with a commitment to retire it by 2040—cutting its typical technical life of 50 years in half—and transitioning to renewable energy technology.

The Philippine energy company now seeks to accelerate the retirement target to 2030. This will be done with the help of Transition Credits, high-integrity carbon credits granted to projects that enable the early retirement of coal plants and their replacement with clean energy. 

“This potential partnership aims to evaluate the feasibility of leveraging Transition Credits through a pioneering initiative that demonstrates how innovative financial mechanisms can accelerate the early retirement of coal-fired power plants in favour of sustainable, clean alternatives,” ACEN said.