Indonesian state energy firm Pertamina has acquired a 20% stake in Philippine clean energy developer Citicore Renewable Energy Corp (CREC) for about $120 million, according to an announcement Thursday.
The deal, Pertamina’s first investment in the Philippine renewable energy sector, also paves the way for joint investments in solar, wind, and carbon-related projects in Indonesia.
Citicore, one of the Philippines’ biggest solar power producers, currently operates 287 megawatts (MW) of solar capacity in the country and targets five gigawatts in five years.
Its pipeline includes 803MW of wind projects, with 362MW already lined up under the Department of Energy’s Green Energy Auction programme.
The company earlier said that the deal would help it develop renewable energy projects in Indonesia and expand its presence in the Southeast Asia region.
“With Pertamina NRE, we can view the energy transition through a different lens and create responsive, collaborative solutions for clean energy in the Philippines and Indonesia,” said CREC President and CEO Oliver Tan.
Pertamina NRE is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pertamina, Indonesia’s state-owned energy conglomerate.
It is tasked with overseeing the group’s power generation and renewable energy initiatives, with a strategic focus on gas-fired power, geothermal energy, and other clean energy sources such as solar and wind.
“Our partnership with Citicore is a way to elevate our capability in RE development, as well as a big step in accelerating our clean energy goals,” said Pertamina NRE CEO John Anis.
The deal comes as the Philippines granted green lane access to a total of 176 projects as of December last year, of which 141 projects worth $70 billion are renewable energy facilities.
