Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. president Oliver Tan: ‘We are entering the next phase of CREC’s journey to power a brighter future for the Philippines with the start of our first four onshore wind projects, and there is no better partner to take this step with than Levanta.’ photograph courtesy of CREC
BUSINESS

CREC, Levanta form JV for onshore wind projects

The JV will cover the development, financing, construction, operations and maintenance of CREC’s four onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 375 megawatts in Luzon and Visayas

Maria Bernadette Romero

Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) is forming a joint venture (JV) with Levanta Renewables, a renewable energy platform backed by Actis, through its wind generation arm, Citicore Wind Energy Corp. (CWEC).

In a stock exchange filing on Monday, CREC said the partnership — whose value has not been disclosed — will help advance CREC’s entry into wind energy development.

The JV will cover the development, financing, construction, and operations and maintenance of CREC’s four onshore wind projects with a total capacity of 375 megawatts in Luzon and Visayas.

Offtake agreements

The projects secured offtake agreements through the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction Program in July 2023.

CREC confirmed that the agreement’s terms were signed on Friday, 18 October. However, the partnership is subject to conditions and is expected to close within the next few months.

“We are entering the next phase of CREC’s journey to power a brighter future for the Philippines with the start of our first four onshore wind projects, and there is no better partner to take this step with than Levanta,” CREC president Oliver Tan said.

“They bring decades of extensive technical and operational experience to this partnership and our onshore wind industry.”

1.5 GW operating capacity

For Levanta CEO Sudhir Nunes, the partnership with CREC, which marked its first entry into the Philippine market, will help deliver its goal of having 1.5 gigawatts of operating capacity across Asia.

‘In a stock exchange filing on Monday, CREC said the partnership with Levanta will help advance CREC’s entry into wind energy development. They (Levanta) bring decades of extensive technical and operational experience to this partnership and our onshore wind industry,’ said CREC president Oliver Tan.

“We are delighted to partner with CREC on developing onshore wind projects in the Philippines. We intend to leverage our partnership with CREC to pursue more utility-scale renewable energy projects in the Philippines,” Nunes said.

CREC’s project portfolio includes solar, hydro and wind energy. Its wind pipeline targets 3 GW of operating generation capacity over the medium and long term to complement its 5 GW of solar energy in five years, or until 2028.