Citicore to use REIT proceeds for 15 solar farms

Arjay L. Balinbin, Senior Reporter

RENEWABLE energy company Citicore Power, Inc. said it plans to reinvest the proceeds from its energy-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) offering in 15 projects in Luzon.

“The proceeds will be used to build new solar plants. We have 1,500 megawatts (MW) of solar pipeline projects,” Citicore Power President Oliver Y. Tan told BusinessWorld in an online interview on Tuesday.

The company is hoping to raise P8 billion to P10 billion in proceeds. It targets to have the offering in September or October this year.

“We are talking about 15 locations spread across Luzon, assuming there is an average of 100 MW per location,” Mr. Tan said. The company aims to reach the 1,500 MW by 2025.

Mr. Tan also said the construction of the first 72-MW Arayat-Mexico solar farm project in Pampanga is “ongoing.”

“There’s Phase 2 to it, so Phase 1 and Phase 2 would total to 100 MW,” he noted.

The company will also work on a 60- to 70-MW project in Region 3 and another 150 MW in Region 4.

Citicore Power currently owns and operates eight solar farms with a total capacity of 163 MW.

It has facilities in Bulacan, Clark, Cebu, Bataan, South Cotabato, Tarlac, and Negros Occidental.

“All eight will be included as initial assets of the energy REIT,” Mr. Tan said.

“We are looking at a potential [asset] value of between P15 billion and P20 billion. We target to sell 49% of that REIT company to the public,” he added.

With the completion of its Arayat-Mexico project, Citicore Power expects to become the Philippines’ largest solar power provider by the fourth quarter of the year.

“We believe that the shift to renewable energy will last for the next decade, and we are positioned to take advantage of that cycle,” Mr. Tan said.

Citicore Power has allocated P4 billion in capital expenditures for solar and hydro projects this year.