Citicore Power hikes solar-power capacity to 163 MW

By Lenie Lectura – May 20, 2018
from Business Mirror

CITICORE Power Inc. (CPI) has ramped up its solar-power portfolio to 163 megawatts following the acquisition of five solar-power plants with 59.9 MW of capacity from Armstrong Asset Management Pte. Ltd. and its local codevelopers.

CPI and Armstrong signed a share purchase agreement on May 17 for the acquisition of the five solar-power projects of Armstrong Asset Management. Four of the five facilities are located in Luzon—Bulacan, Pampanga and Tarlac City—while the fifth is in South Cotabato in Mindanao.

Also, three of the five solar-power facilities with a total capacity of 45 MW have been qualified for the second round of the Department of Energy’s feed-in-tariff program. Therefore, these are assured of a fixed rate for 20 years.

CPI President Oliver Y. Tan said the deal is in line with CPI’s target to accelerate its portfolio to 1,000 MW of clean energy from a diversified mix of RE sources.

“We are very excited about this acquisition, as it strengthens our position in building a nation powered by clean, renewable energy. At an aggregate capacity of 163 MW, we can be considered as one of the largest solar-power generation companies in the country, and we are looking forward to cater to the growing needs of the market for a competitively priced, reliable and sustainable energy,” Tan said.

ING Bank NV acted as the exclusive financial advisor, Martinez Vergara Gonzalez & Serrano acted as the legal advisor and the Development Bank of the Philippines acted as the debt advisor to CPI in the transaction.

Evercore acted as the financial advisor to Armstrong in the transaction. CPI currently operates three solar facilities across the country with an aggregate capacity of 103 MW.  It currently supplies power to the Ayala Group of Companies through AC Energy Holdings Inc. Other clients include Citystate Centre Condominium Corp. and the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

Tan said the additional 60-MW capacity also ensures the continuous and reliable supply of clean energy for CPI’s growing retail-electricity customers through its retail electricity arm, Citicore Energy Solutions Inc.

“This acquisition is attuned to the goals and foundation of CPI in the business of fostering the development of innovative RE projects that would give back to both the community and the environment,” Tan added.

With a portfolio of eight solar-power plants, CPI now powers the equivalent of more than 2 million homes. The facilities also displace as much as 200,000 metric tons of carbon emissions per year.

Aside from solar power, CPI is scheduled to break ground a 19.7-MW of run-of-river hydropower facility this July. It also has a number of biomass-power projects in the pipeline under development across the country.

CPI is a subsidiary of Citicore Holdings Investment Inc.

Armstrong Asset Management is an independent clean-energy asset manager.