CREC secures P4-B loan for two solar farms
Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has obtained a P4-billion loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines to ramp up the development of two solar parks.
On Wednesday, the group backed by billionaire Edgar Saavedra said that the new funds would help finance the construction of two 41-megawatt-peak solar power plants, boosted with 53-megawatt-hour battery energy storage systems.
The build-out of the solar assets is being spearheaded by Citicore Solar Embedded Inc. (CS Embedded).
The first marks CREC’s first power facility in Nueva Ecija while the other one beefs up its footprint in Pampanga following the firing up of 115-megawatt (MW) and 42-MW solar parks in the Arayat-Mexico area.
The company, through CS Embedded, inked a deal with Pampanga I Electric Cooperative and the San Jose City Electric Cooperative.
The solar facilities will be “directly connected” to the distribution utilities (DUs). Under this business model, CREC seeks to cut system losses and reduce power rates for consumers.
This likewise supports DUs’ renewable energy sourcing requirements.
“Our vision to ‘Power a First World Philippines’ aligns with LandBank’s commitment to sustainable nation-building, enabling us to accelerate the delivery of renewable energy projects that advance the country’s energy transition and create lasting value for Filipino communities,” CREC president and CEO Oliver Tan said in a statement.
“This collaboration also underscores the critical role of public-private partnerships in advancing the Department of Energy’s target of increasing renewable energy’s share in the country’s power generation mix to 50 percent by 2040,” he added.
Aside from solar power, CREC has interests in wind and hydro projects.
The firm has an ambitious target of scaling up its renewable energy capacity to 5,000 MW by 2028, from its current over 500 MW.
For 2026, CREC intends to spend about $2 billion to launch more solar projects.
