Philippines switches on agrovoltaic complex with 320 MWh battery storage
President of the Philippines Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday led the ceremonial commissioning of the Citicore Solar Batangas 1 Power Plants, the country’s first hybrid agrovoltaics and battery storage system.
In his speech during the event in Tuy, Batangas, President Marcos underscored the crucial role of renewable energy in providing a cleaner and sustainable power supply. “Here in Batangas, we are showing the whole world that solar power is the path to a sustainable and clean way of lighting our homes and industries,” he said.
The Citicore Solar Batangas 1 Power Plants comprises the Lumbangan and Luntal solar projects, which will generate up to 197 MW of renewable energy, supported by a 320 MWh battery storage system. The projects are expected to supply clean energy to around 158,000 households
The President said that agrivoltaics lessens land-use competition between agriculture and energy by maximizing land productivity, increasing farmers’ income, and further enhancing food security.
President Marcos expressed gratitude to renewable energy developer Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC) for supporting the government in bringing clean and reliable energy to Filipino homes and vowed support for future projects relating to renewable energy.
The latest project is part of Citicore Renewable’s commitment to provide 5 GWh of clean energy in the next five years to support the country’s goal of achieving a 50% renewable energy share in the energy mix by 2040.
CREC, one of the Philippines’ leading photovoltaic developers, has a longstanding history in the development and operation of solar energy projects across the country. More recently, in response to the growing grid congestion, CREC has turned to battery storage.
In addition to developing colocated projects, CREC is also actively integrating storage into its operational solar plants.
In December 2024, the developer entered into a significant agreement with China’s Sungrow for the supply of 1.5 GWh of PowerTitan 2.0 battery storage systems. On the back of the deal, touted as the largest BESS supply agreement in Southeast Asia at the time, CREC aims to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of its operating 302 MWp solar power project.
However, this substantial battery supply deal was surpassed just a day later. Terra Solar Philippines, a subsidiary of SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), signed an agreement with China’s Huawei for 4.5 GWh of battery storage, which will be colocated with 3.5 GW of solar plant. This project is poised to become one of the largest integrated solar and battery storage facility in the world.
Source: ESS News
