Philippines' Citicore expects nine-fold increase in solar capacity by 2026, CEO says
One of the Philippines' largest solar power producers behind ACEN Corp (ACEN.PS), opens new tab, Citicore will add 1 GW of capacity by the end of this year, and a further 1.17 GW in 2026, Tan said.
The company, in which the renewable energy arm of Indonesia's state-owned oil producer PT Pertamina bought a 20% stake this year, currently has 0.29 GW of installed solar capacity.
Citicore's solar expansion plans are in line with the Philippines' push to decarbonise its grid, after years of slow progress made the Southeast Asian nation's grid the region's most coal-dependent in 2023, surpassing Indonesia.
The Philippines' renewable capacity increased by a record 0.8 GW, or nearly 10%, to 9.2 GW in 2024, government data showed, with installations in the last year surpassing green capacity installed over the preceding three years combined.
Six of Citicore's solar projects that will come online this year will be south of the capital Manila, while three will be in the country's north and one of them will supply the demand-heavy Visayas region, Tan said.
The company's expected additions this year alone will boost the Philippines' installed solar capacity by nearly half from 2024 levels of over 2 GW.
Solar currently accounts for about 3% of power generated in the country of over 115 million people, data from energy think-tank Ember showed, which the country wants to increase to 5.6% by 2030.
Tan said the 2.17 GW of additions from now through 2026 would put the company on track to achieve its 2030 solar capacity target of 5 GW. It is also targetting 0.36 GW of wind capacity additions by 2027.
The aggressive state push is likely to crowd out private power supply deals with corporations in the renewable sector this decade, Tan said.
"We are likely to see the share of corporate power purchase agreements shrink this year as the government increases tendering of projects supplying the grid," he said.
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