Pentagreen Capital, manager of a blended finance strategy under Singapore’s Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership (FAST-P) initiative, and Citicore Solar Energy Corporation (Citicore), part of the Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation, announced last Thursday a financing of $55 million to unlock the implementation of solar and battery storage projects in the Philippines.

Pentagreen Capital said in a statement that the $55 million development and construction loan will finance solar, hybrid solar and battery storage projects in the Philippines.

The loan will unlock the implementation of projects of up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of generation capacity and up to 760 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery storage capacity.

The projects include the first baseload solar plant in the Philippines capable of storing and dispatching energy beyond normal solar hours, providing 24/7 baseload renewable power to its customers.

The loan will initially support the construction and development of 610MWp across eight solar facilities located in the provinces of Pangasinan, Pampanga, Batangas, and Negros Occidental.

Three of the facilities in Batangas will also be host to battery energy storage systems (BESS) with a capacity of up to 760MWh, enhancing grid stability.

The above-mentioned eight solar projects will add a combined 914 gigawatt hours (GWh) of pure renewable energy supply to the grid annually, resulting in an estimated 630,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions avoided, which generates enough electricity to power approximately 240,000 Filipino homes yearly, ultimately providing stable, reliable and cost-effective pure renewable energy to power the nation’s transition away from fossil fuels.

The projects will also be host to Citicore’s AgroSolar Initiative, maintaining the agricultural intent of solar land by growing various high-value crops underneath and in-between panels, while helping local farmers through income augmentation.

“We are honored to extend our long-standing partnership with Citicore as the company surpasses its goal of completing 1GW of renewable capacity annually in the Philippines,

“Pentagreen Capital, with support of our partners in connection with Singapore’s FAST-P initiative, stands ready to support Citicore and its innovative approach to accelerating the region’s transition towards stable and reliable renewable energy sources,” said Marat Zapparov, Chief Executive Officer of Pentagreen Capital.

Oliver Tan, Chief Executive Officer of Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation said in 2023, Pentagreen trusted the firm’s ability to scale towards its ambitious renewable energy goals.

“With our first 1 gigawatt nearing completion and preparation for our next gigawatt, Pentagreen remains an integral partner to Citicore,

“Their continued vote of confidence and support to our undertakings through this agreement will help us further accelerate our renewable energy developments – bringing clean, sustainable, and more affordable electricity for the country,” he added.

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