President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday led the ceremonial switch-on of the Citicore Solar Batangas 1 Power Plants, the country’s first hybrid agro-solar and battery storage system, which aims to promote a cleaner and safer future while boosting local food security.
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.
“Dito sa Batangas, pinapakita natin sa buong mundo na ang solar power ang daan tungo sa isang pangmatagalan at malinis na paraan ng pagbibigay liwanag sa ating mga tahanan at industriya,” President Marcos said.
The Citicore Solar Batangas 1 Power Plants include the Lumbangan and Luntal Power Projects, which will generate up to 197 megawatts of renewable energy, supported by a 320 megawatt-hour battery storage system that will ensure reliable power delivery.
The projects are expected to supply clean energy to around 158,000 households and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 265,000 tons annually. This is equivalent to removing thousands of vehicles from the road.
“Mas malinis ang hangin, mas ligtas ang ating kapaligiran,” the President said.
Beyond energy production, the President said Citicore is also innovatively combining solar power generation with agriculture by using agrivoltaics—a method of planting crops beneath and around solar panels.
The President said this approach 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 Citicore for supporting the government in bringing clean and reliable energy to every Filipino home and vowed support for future projects relating to renewable energy.
The project is part of Citicore Renewable’s commitment to provide five gigawatts of clean energy in the next five years to support the country’s goal of achieving a 50 percent renewable energy share in the energy mix by 2040.
“We also look forward to the realization of Citicore’s goal to add five gigawatts of clean energy in the next five years,” the President said. | PND
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