CITICORE Energy REIT Corp. (CREIT) is ramping up the development of renewable energy projects to meet its planned expansion, a company official said last week.
“Currently, we have a pipeline of solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems [at a total capacity of] 3 gigawatts (GW),” Oliver Y. Tan, president and chief executive officer of CREIT, told BusinessWorld during the Philippines-Spain Multilateral Partnership forum last week.
He said the company is set to break ground for around 200 to 300 megawatts (MW) of new solar capacity “by next year, by the first quarter.”
Mr. Tan said that next year, CREIT is planning to develop around 800 MW of solar projects.
“Towards the second half of next year, another 400 to 500 MW until we reach the 3 GW in the next five years,” Mr. Tan said.
He said that the solar farm projects will be located in three areas in Luzon.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tan said that CREIT is also expecting growth in its net income for the year.
“We are expecting our earnings to be in line with our full-year forecast,” he added.
CREIT has yet to disclose its net income for the third quarter.
In the second quarter, it reported a net income of P300.83 million, up nearly five times from P65.68 million in the same period last year.
In 2021, it earned P209.48 million, or more than double the P104.11 million recorded in 2020.
For 2023, Mr. Tan said CREIT will acquire assets to host affiliate solar power developers.
Last month, CREIT said it was looking at issuing ASEAN green bonds to expand its real estate portfolio. It plans to offer bonds worth P3 billion, with an oversubscription allotment of up to P1.5 billion. The planned offering is awaiting regulatory approval. — Ashley Erika O. Jose