Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday inaugurated the Citicore Solar Batangas 1 Power Plants, the country’s first hybrid project combining agrovoltaics with large-scale battery energy storage.
Speaking at the ceremony in Tuy, Batangas, Marcos highlighted the strategic role of renewable energy in securing the nation’s energy future. “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 consist of the Lumbangan and Luntal solar facilities, designed to generate up to 197 MW of renewable energy. The projects are paired with a 320 MWh battery system and are expected to power approximately 158,000 households.
Marcos underscored the importance of agrivoltaics in balancing food and energy production. By integrating agriculture with solar generation, he said, land productivity is maximized, farmers’ income is boosted, and food security is strengthened.
The projects were developed by Citicore Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC), one of the Philippines’ leading solar developers. CREC has pledged to deliver 5 GWh of clean energy within the next five years to support the government’s target of raising the share of renewable energy to 50% of the country’s energy mix by 2040.
CREC has an established track record in photovoltaic development across the Philippines and is increasingly investing in battery energy storage to address grid challenges. In December 2024, the company signed an agreement with China’s Sungrow for 1.5 GWh of PowerTitan 2.0 storage systems, then the largest supply deal of its kind in Southeast Asia. The systems are intended to improve the performance of CREC’s existing 302 MWp solar project.
That milestone was soon eclipsed when Terra Solar Philippines, a subsidiary of SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), finalized a 4.5 GWh battery storage deal with China’s Huawei, colocated with 3.5 GW of solar generation. The project is set to become one of the world’s largest integrated solar and battery storage facilities.
