SAAVEDRA-LED Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) and Ang-led SMC Global Light and Power Corp. (SGLP) are targeting to start the construction of their 153.5-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Mariveles, Bataan within the first quarter.
“We’re doing the design already, so we target to break ground maybe in the first quarter this year,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Y. Tan told reporters on Jan. 14.
Mr. Tan said the solar power plant will likely be completed by early next year since the construction may take one year.
In June last year, CREC and SGLP signed an investment and shareholders agreement to jointly develop, construct, and operate a solar power plant.
SGLP is a wholly owned subsidiary of San Miguel Global Power Holdings Corp., the power arm of San Miguel Corp. (SMC).
The companies will collaborate and cooperate in financing, construction, ownership, operation, and maintenance of the plant through the subscription to a special purpose entity.
Upon satisfaction of these conditions, both parties will subscribe to the special purpose entity, with CREC initially owning 49% and SGLP owning 51% of the total issued and subscribed capital stock.
During the construction phase, CREC will subscribe to additional shares, resulting in equal 50:50 ownership between the two companies.
“If successful and both parties are happy, we hope that it will continue to the next and the next (projects),” Mr. Tan said.
CREC aims to add one gigawatt (GW) of capacity annually to the Philippines’ energy mix, focusing on ready-to-build or under-construction projects over the next five years, aiming for a total of around 5 GW by 2028.
For 2025, the company is expecting its first GW worth of energy projects to come online, which are mostly under the government’s second green energy auction held in 2023. It is also rolling out the second GW pipeline this year, according to Mr. Tan.
CREC, directly and through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, manages a diversified portfolio of renewable energy generation projects, power project development operations, and retail electricity supply services.
At present, the company holds a combined gross installed capacity of 285 MW from its solar facilities in the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera