{"id":115995,"date":"2026-09-02T15:07:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:07:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/115995\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T15:07:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T15:07:49","slug":"from-fossil-fuels-to-renewables-a-transition-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/115995\/","title":{"rendered":"From fossil fuels to renewables – a transition story"},"content":{"rendered":"

In less than a decade, ACEN (opens in new window) (opens in new window)<\/a> has transitioned from being a fossil fuels company to a renewables champion. <\/p>\n

The growing urgency of climate change and the long-term risks associated with carbon-intensive assets inspired one of our clients \u2013 the energy subsidiary of Ayala Corporation (opens in new window) (opens in new window) (opens in new window) (opens in new window)<\/a> in the Philippines \u2013 to decisively pivot away from thermal energy in 2016 and rapidly pursue renewables.<\/p>\n

At a time when energy security is a hot topic, ACEN\u2019s story is an example of what can be achieved by businesses finding the right partners to help them achieve their ambitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cOil and gas shocks have brought energy security into sharp focus, prompting governments and businesses to rethink their dependence on imported energy,\u201d said Justin Wu, Head of Sustainability and Climate Change, Asia-Pacific and Middle East.<\/p>\n

Asia is particularly vulnerable as the region typically absorbs 80% of the Middle East\u2019s exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a defining moment to accelerate home-grown renewables \u2013 reducing exposure to volatile imports and building a more resilient, future-ready economy,\u201d Justin added.<\/p>\n

Revamping to renewables<\/p>\n

ACEN began its transition in 2016 with only 73 MW of renewable energy capacity in the Philippines, or 2% of its entire portfolio.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, ACEN announced it had achieved 100% renewable energy generation across its portfolio. It had transitioned from a 1 GW platform of mostly coal, oil and gas to 7 GW of renewable capacity, surpassing its target of 5 GW of renewable capacity by 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we continue to scale our renewable energy portfolio across key markets, having a banking partner that provides integrated financing, risk management, and on-the-ground market expertise is critical,\u201d said Eric Francia, CEO, ACEN.<\/p>\n

Our financial solutions, instruments and facilities have been critical to securing power purchase agreements, grid connectivity, land, and enabling project construction, he said.<\/p>\n

Sandeep Uppal, CEO and Head of Banking, HSBC Philippines, has worked closely with ACEN\u2019s executives to meet their evolving needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cPartnering with ACEN was a natural extension of our 140-year relationship with Ayala Corporation – we have been complementing each other\u2019s transition journey,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, several of our specialist teams across our local and regional business have collaborated to provide a range of tailored financing to help ACEN develop its renewable energy portfolio at pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our client\u2019s growing network of clean energy projects needed risk management solutions, particularly in foreign exchange and interest rate hedging. We delivered on long-term foreign currency project finance loans, offshore funding lines, and became one of the company\u2019s main banking partners. <\/p>\n

Expanding at pace<\/p>\n

When ACEN first sought to expand internationally, Indonesia and Vietnam were natural entry points, given their supportive policy environments for renewable energy. <\/p>\n

The company established platforms in Australia and India and made investments in other international markets with support from HSBC and other partners. <\/p>\n

\u201cHSBC\u2019s international presence and understanding of local regulatory environments particularly in complex, emerging markets have been valuable to us,\u201d said Eric.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccess to USD financing enabled us to fund and scale renewable energy projects across multiple markets, at a time when building a diversified international portfolio was critical.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACEN\u2019s expansion across multiple markets has led to greater investment in governance, risk management systems, leadership and technical capabilities across their business.<\/p>\n

The company is focused on growth within the Philippines, Australia, and India, supported by a disciplined approach to capital allocation and execution. To this end, HSBC has provided project finance for solar projects in these countries.<\/p>\n

Today, ACEN operates 24 solar power plants, 16 onshore wind projects, with strategic investments in geothermal energy and energy storage systems. <\/p>\n

\u201cHSBC\u2019s combination of financing support and market insight has contributed meaningfully to our ability to expand internationally and accelerate our transition to renewable energy,\u201d Eric added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In less than a decade, ACEN (opens in new window) (opens in new window) has transitioned from being…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115996,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20667],"tags":[47494,47495,2575,8845,3545,9881,2598,721],"class_list":["post-115995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hsbc","tag-acen","tag-case-study","tag-clean-energy","tag-coal","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-hsbc","tag-renewables","tag-sustainability"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/117202075981780733","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115995\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115996"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}