CREC doubles capital spend to $2B to rack up 3,000 MW

Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) intends to spend about $2 billion this year as it sets a bolder target of hitting 3,000 megawatts of capacity by the end of 2026.

The earmarked capital is twice last year’s $1 billion, according to CREC CEO Oliver Tan.

This, as the company hopes to exceed its initial goal of firing up just 1,000 megawatts per year. This year, the firm sees the rollout and “substantial completion” of its second and third chunk of 1,000 MW.

At present, CREC’s capacity is more than 500 megawatts.

The bulk of the funding would finance CREC projects that it won through the fourth round of the government’s green energy auction program (GEA-4). These involve solar parks and battery energy storage systems.

Tan noted that most of these developments are located in Batangas, Pagbilao in Quezon and Samar in the Visayas, as well as some areas in northern and southern Luzon.

This puts CREC on course to realize its goal of having 5,000 MW by 2028.

However, Tan said the weak peso makes CREC’s capex more expensive since it imports about half of its equipment.

Metal prices

Prices of silver and copper, for instance, which are key components for solar panels and cable production, are also rising.

“So the high commodity prices and inflationary pressure [affecting] the capex, these are the headwinds we’re trying to manage,” the CEO said.

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Meanwhile, Tan said the expected expansion of CREC’s portfolio would likewise translate to stronger financials, although the impact would not be seen until 2027.

In the first three quarters of 2025, CREC booked higher earnings, thanks to higher power sales. Its net income from January to September reached P965.64 million from P754.92 million a year earlier.

CREC’s top line also jumped 13 percent to P3.8 billion from P3.4 billion.

This was on the back of higher power sales, which hit P3.26 billion.