CITICORE Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) on Tuesday said that it had energized the 69 megawatt-peak (MWp) Citicore Solar Negros Occidental 2 solar plant.
“This is the 6th out of 12 GEA-2 projects that have been energized," Citicore Renewabel President and CEO Oliver Tan said.
"Another four plants are ready for energization by April, with the last two plants to be energized in the next couple of months, in turn completing all GEA-2 projects we’ve won,” he added.
"Negros Occidental has long been both an agricultural heartland and a renewable energy hub. By pairing solar generation with crop production, we demonstrate how energy infrastructure can co-exist with agriculture,” he added.
The 69-hectare plant located in Barangay Eustaquio Lopez, Silay City is designed for expansion up to 100 MWp, complementing the firm’s 25 MWp Citicore Negros Occidental 1 plant.
As a project under the second round of the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program, the facility is meant to deliver clean and reliable power to the Visayas grid.
Citicore Renewable said that it would also expand its AgroSolar initiative, allowing the land underneath solar panels to grow high-value crops for purposes of boosting food security and providing livelihood to local farmers.
The company's share price rose by 10 centavos to close at P4.59 apiece on Tuesday.