Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) is expanding its AgroSolar initiative to its other solar farms in Luzon this year.
First launched in its Citicore Solar Tarlac 2 project, CREC corporate affairs and foundation head Fiona Nicolas said in a Philippine Star report that the company will also implement the AgroSolar initiative in the Citicore Solar Tarlac 1 project, its solar plant in Arayat-Mexico, Citicore Solar Bulacan Inc., in the solar project in Batangas City, and in Citicore Solar Clark.
Nicolas noted that CREC is upscaling this year, on a quarterly basis.
The AgroSolar initiative marries solar power generation and crop farming to help address food security while at the same time, generating renewable energy to meet power demands.
Through this initiative, Citicore wants to refute the misconception that agriculture and solar plants cannot be done together.
During its ceremonial harvest in Citicore Solar Tarlac 2, CREC said that it sees yielding 5,000 kilograms of pechay or local napa cabbage in the area from two cycles this summer under the AgroSolar initiative.
The pechay crops alongside the solar panels were equivalent to one hectare of the 10-hectare property, Nicolas noted. Eight cycles are expected from the pechay harvest, with an estimated commercial value of Php 1.3 million.
Citicore Solar Tarlac 2 has a total of four hectares available for planting. CREC president and CEO Oliver Tan that the company identified pechay as the “focused crop to support the farmers from Tarlac, which has long been recognized as one of the major producers of pechay.”