CREC taps P4.4-B Security Bank loan for 125-MW solar farm

LISTED renewable energy company Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) has secured a P4.4-billion term loan facility from Security Bank Corp. to finance its 125-megawatt (MW) solar power project in Pangasinan.

“Project finance is key to realizing the renewable energy transition, with projects like Citicore Solar (CS) Pangasinan able to move faster and mitigate risks with the support of partners like Security Bank, which understand that sustainability requires cooperation between industries,” CREC President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Oliver Y. Tan said in a statement on Thursday.

Situated in the municipality of Sta. Barbara in Pangasinan, the CS Pangasinan Solar project is one of CREC’s priority projects in its “five gigawatts (GW) in five years” goal.

The Department of Energy has certified the solar farm as an energy project of national significance, expediting the permitting and development processes to ensure its completion by yearend.

“By supporting Citicore’s Sta. Barbara solar power project, we acknowledge that achieving long-term energy security requires proactive investment and development today,” said Security Bank Capital President and CEO Virgilio O. Chua.

“We see this financing not only as a catalyst for clean energy development but also as a means to create meaningful socioeconomic benefits, including local job creation and land use optimization,” he added.

For 2025, CREC has earmarked a capital expenditure budget of more than $1 billion, with the majority of the funds allocated to its first GW of solar power projects.

CREC, directly and through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, manages a diversified portfolio of renewable energy generation projects, power project development operations, and retail electricity supply services.

At present, the company has a combined gross installed capacity of 287 megawatts from its solar facilities in the Philippines. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera