CREC rules Philippine solar baseload power plant race
MANILA, Philippines – Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has activated its P10-billion solar facility with a storage system in Batangas, claimed to be the Philippines’ “first solar baseload power plant.”
Citicore Solar Batangas 1—which has a 197-megawatt (MW) capacity and is equipped with a 300-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system (BESS)—was energized on Monday. High officials from the government, including President Marcos, witnessed the event.
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BESS has been gaining momentum in the renewable space as it allows producers to store excess electricity and release it to the grid once needed, especially during peak hours.
Baseload power
The normal hours of solar power generation are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the firm noted.
Investing in this technology, CREC president and chief executive officer Oliver Tan said, allowed the group “to prove that solar can be true baseload power.”
Baseload refers to the capacity and supply deployed by power producers throughout the business day.
Tan said CREC planned to deploy more BESS at its other solar plants.
“Soon, our country will no longer have to rely on unclean energy and the uncertainties of fuel importation. Instead, we will be powered by homegrown, reliable and pure renewable energy,” Tan added in a statement.
With the activation of this major plant, CREC chair Edgar Saavedra said the group was on track to deliver its first gigawatt of renewable energy by the end of 2025.
“The first step toward our bold five gigawatt targets in 2030—this is only the beginning,” he said in his speech.
Storage systems
Eleven facilities are expected to rise in Pangasinan, Pampanga, Batangas, Quezon and Negros Occidental. Three plants in Batangas are set to have storage systems with a combined capacity of 760 MWh.
Currently, CREC’s capacity is at 587 MW.
It has earmarked more than $1 billion of capital expenditures this 2025 to further support its growth expansion, which will also help jumpstart the rollout of its second gigawatt.
