Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC), a renewable energy developer, secured a PhP9 billion (~$159 million) financing for multiple solar projects with a total installed generating capacity of at least 600 MWdc and up to nearly 1 GW of solar energy capacity.
The financing deal, arranged by RCBC Capital Corporation, is expected to raise up to PhP20 billion (~$354 million), starting with the signing of an initial tranche of PhP9 billion (~$159 million). The structure covers various project portfolios instead of the typical per-project financing structure.
The proceeds of the initial funding tranche will be used for the development of solar projects in Batangas, Pampanga, and Negros Occidental. The proceeds of subsequent tranches will be used to complete additional solar power projects or additional generating capacity from CERC’s pipeline of projects in various stages of development.
“RCBC’s support will assist us to fulfill our 1 GW target for this year,” said CREC President and CEO Mr. Oliver Tan.
The first and second phases of the Negros Occidental Project are expected to reach commercial operation in September 2024 and 2025, respectively. Further, the expected commercial operation dates for the first and second phases of each of the Batangas and Pampanga projects are in December 2024 and 2025, respectively.
According to Mercom’s Q4 and Annual Global Solar Funding and M&A report, large-scale project funding deals announced in 2023 came to $44.5 billion in 229 deals, of which 196 were disclosed. In a YoY comparison, large-scale project funding increased 74.5% compared to the $9.8 billion raised in 52 deals in Q4 2022.
Recently, Arevon Energy, a solar and storage project developer, secured $352 million in financing for the construction and development of 228 MW of the Posey Solar Project in Posey County, Indiana. The project is expected to be operational in Q1 2025 and will generate enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of more than 25,000 homes annually.
