CREC sets over $1-billion capex for solar projects

CITICORE Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has allocated a capital expenditure (capex) budget of more than $1 billion (around P56 billion) for this year, with the majority of the funds earmarked for its first gigawatt (GW) of solar power projects, its president said.

“Total capex for 2025 would roughly be around north of $1 billion,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer Oliver Y. Tan said during the company’s virtual annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday.

Mr. Tan said most of the budget had already been spent in the early part of the year to finance the 1-GW solar projects expected to be energized before yearend.

The balance is allocated for the second set of solar projects, which are scheduled to break ground in the second half of the year.

Last year, CREC earmarked a capex of around P35 billion, primarily for renewable energy (RE) projects.

CREC aims to add 1 GW of capacity annually to the Philippines’ energy mix, focusing on ready-to-build or under-construction projects over the next five years, targeting a total of approximately 5 GW by 2028.

While the company is still relatively new, Mr. Tan said CREC takes pride in its “vertical integrated business model.”

“We are an RE developer. At the same time, we have an in-house engineering, procurement, and construction arm. Post-energization, we also operate and maintain our plant in-house,” he said.

He said this business model gives the company two advantages: speed of execution and cost competitiveness.

“According to [the] Department of Energy, we corner 20% of total solar generated output for the past three years. We aim to maintain the same market share, if not increase [it], upon the energization of almost one gigawatt before the end of the year,” Mr. Tan said.

For the first three months, CREC reported an attributable net income of P137.89 million, up 15.4% from the previous year, driven by higher electricity sales.

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 has a combined gross installed capacity of 285 megawatts from its solar facilities in the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera