MY brother is finalizing his solar power project for his Cavite residence with a very friendly contractor.

Sitting in an elevated area in the sunny yet cool locality of Silang, my sibling’s property is ideal for solar energy which could reduce his Meralco bill by 50 percent and maybe more in the long run if he decides to expand his renewable energy investment.

His contractor – a family friend – earlier offered me the same prduct but upon inspection of my place, it was found out that it’s not qualified for installation.

My residence is surrounded by tall buildings that apparently prevent my house from getting full exposure to the sun. Thus, I can’t maximize the benefits of solar energy.

Jokingly, my brother said I should sue the owners of the building for denying me the chance to enjoy the gains of harvesting the sun’s power.

Actually, I can take the matter to the court. But the buildings are already there. I would not destroy investments of others so I can build my own.

Besides, I value friendship, cooperation and harmony where mutual benefits and bigger opportunities can be found.

What can be done is to prevent more tall buildings from being constructed in residential areas so that families can reap the wonderful fruits of the sun.

Meanwhile, the government is turning aggressive in luring renewable energy investments.

As this develops, Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) is ramping up its solar energy targets for the next five years.

The firm plans to launch 5,000 megawatts (MW) of solar power projects in the next five years from its initial target of 1,500 MV for the same period because of the country’s growing power requirement.

They are upgrading their pipeline projects from originally 1.5 gigawatts, or 1,500 MW, and the target is to break ground 1 GW of new projects this year. So, meaning, by early next year, they will have almost 1.25 GW of installed capacity.

CREC president and chief executive officer Oliver Tan said the projects will generate between P7 billion and P8 billion on the company’s top line.

The firm is allocating $800 million in capital expenditure (capex) this year to fund the new projects, which are expected to be completed by early 2024.

Majority of the capex this year will be spent on its 600-MW solar project in Batangas, he added.

Aside from expanding its solar power portfolio, CREC is also investing in battery energy storage system this year.

Said investments in energy storage system are critical to accelerate and smoothen the transmission of output coming from renewable energy projects.

“We have a good policy in supporting our renewable energy,” Tan said. “What the government needs to support will be the development of energy storage technology.”

With its new targets for the medium term, CREC is expected to invest $4 billion to fund its 5,000-MW solar power projects in five years.

To fund these projects, CREC will go public this year.

Good luck to CREC.

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