Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (Citicore Renewables), a Philippines-based integrated renewable energy platform, has achieved a major milestone with a groundbreaking financing deal for its subsidiary, Citicore Solar Energy Corporation (CSEC).
Powering the Future: Citicore Renewables Secures $100 Million Financing from Pentagreen Capital to Supercharge Solar Projects in the Philippines | Photo: Citicore Renewables
The agreement, valued at a staggering $100 million, was structured by Pentagreen Capital, a sustainable infrastructure debt financing partnership formed by shareholders HSBC and Temasek.
The financial partnership is poised to accelerate the growth of renewable energy in the Philippines.
The agreement encompasses a Mezzanine Construction Green Loan Facility, and Pentagreen has committed an initial tranche of $30 million to jumpstart the development of a portfolio consisting of six solar power projects.
These projects, located across Luzon, have a combined capacity of 490 Megawatts (MW).
Notably, this funding will empower Citicore Renewables to efficiently allocate capital, aligning with its ambitious plan to roll out an impressive 1 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity annually over the next five years.
Of the initial tranche, four greenfield projects are in the construction phase, with two others recently completed.
Collectively, these projects are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 430,000 tonnes of CO2 yearly, following guidelines set by the International Financial Institutions Technical Working Group on Greenhouse Gas Accounting.
Oliver Tan, President and CEO of Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation, expressed gratitude for Pentagreen's support, describing it as a vote of confidence in their scalability.
“Pentagreen’s partnership with Citicore Renewables is a vote of confidence in our ability to scale up, enabling us to achieve our planned 1GW project rollout this year, in line with our 5GW in 5 years roadmap. We appreciate Pentagreen’s support for our solar projects as it unlocks the development of our renewable energy capacity pipeline in an accelerated manner,” said Tan.
These solar projects will supply green electricity to a mix of long-term and spot market customers, furthering the Department of Energy's (DOE) goal of generating 35% of the country's energy from renewable sources by 2030 and 50% by 2040.
Citicore Renewable was recently awarded 916.58MWac of renewable energy capacity as part of the DOE's Green Energy Auction Program (GEAP).
Pentagreen's commitment represents the first international institutional investment, designed to catalyze additional debt funding for Citicore Renewables' ready-to-build projects.
The commitment also includes a greenshoe option to increase the investment amount to $100 million, thus enabling the expansion of the solar project portfolio to over 1GW.
Marat Zapparov, CEO of Pentagreen Capital, expressed delight in partnering with Citicore Renewables and welcomed them as the first addition to their portfolio.
“We are delighted to partner with Citicore Renewables to support its ambition of becoming a leading green electricity provider in the Philippines and are honored to welcome them as the first addition to our own portfolio,” said Zapparov.
This financing initiative aligns with Citicore's Green Financing Framework, adhering to international green bond standards and principles while receiving a Second Party Opinion from Sustainalytics.
This landmark financing deal underscores the commitment of both organizations to combat climate change and drive sustainable infrastructure development in Southeast Asia.
With Citicore Renewables' vision of powering the Philippines with pure renewable energy, and Pentagreen Capital's dedication to catalyzing sustainable infrastructure, this partnership holds promise for a greener and more sustainable future in the region.
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