Tuy, Batangas-Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) wants to scale up its agrosolar initiative, touted as the first of its kind in the Philippines, to optimize the use of land occupied by solar panels for agricultural purposes.
Citicore Foundation head Czarina Brodit-Valeros said the firm’s initiative integrates agricultural crop production alongside solar power generation to maximize land productivity.
‘Through this initiative, we grow crops along the aisles of our solar panels, benefiting from shade, improved soil moisture, and higher yields,’ Valeros told reporters in an interview here.
Partial shading from the panels also cools the soil, which ensures that plants access sufficient water during warmer periods.
‘We also made use of this initiative to empower local farmers in the area…and help them with their livelihoods.’
From a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project, she said the company saw its potential as a revenue-generating initiative, which now operates in three sites: Barangay Luntal and Barangay Lumbangan in Tuy, Batangas as well as in Arayat, Pampanga.
From 2022 to 2025, Citicore Foundation’s agrosolar initiative yielded 16 metric tons (MT) of high-value crops, such as eggplant, red and green chillis, and okra, among others.
At present, however, she said harvested crops across the operational sites are marketed through community-based selling, ‘since we don’t have institutional offtakers yet’ given the limited yield to sustain a commercialized operation.
Despite this, Valeros said they plan to increase the agrosolar initiative to a total of six sites by yearend through partnerships with local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).
Citicore Foundation is in talks with the LGU and the DA to develop the agrosolar project in Binalonan, Pangasinan and the Dalayap, Tarlac, respectively. The LGU of Silay, Negros Occidental also showed interest in the initiative.
‘The vision is (for) it to become a full-blown enterprise that can serve or at least compete at the commercial level and to utilize more land,’ Valeros said.
‘This is to show that energy and food security don’t have to be compromised. Whether there’s development or industrialization, we can still keep the agricultural intent of our lands.’