Phillippines-headquartered renewable energy companies Terra Solar Philippines, Inc. (TSPI), power distribution utility Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN) and SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC) have broken ground for the 3.5 GW Terra Solar and 4.5 GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
As the world’s largest integrated solar and battery storage facility, it will cover 35 square kilometres, about four times larger than Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport.
The $6.1 billion (USD 4 billion) project will be divided between five central Phillippines locations in the Nueva Ecija and Bulacan regions, about 92 kilometres north of the capital, Manila.
The China-headquartered energy and infrastructure company China Energy Engineering Group, which operates in 140 countries with projects such as the 40 billion kWh West-East Power Transmission Project under their belt, were recently awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.
Upon completion, Terra Solar will supply clean energy to approximately 2.4 million households and avoid carbon emissions by an estimated 4.3 million tonnes annually – equivalent to removing over 3 million gasoline-powered vehicles from the roads every year.
The Philippines government’s goal is to achieve a 35% renewable energy mix by 2030 and 50% by 2040, with the country’s current installed renewable energy capacity standing at almost 30% of total energy mix.
Phillippines President Marcos Jnr said the ground breaking marks a leap towards the future driven by innovation and sustained by our collective hope for a cleaner and greener Philippines.
“We stand together at the site of what will become the largest integrated solar and battery storage facility in the world – the Terra Solar Project. This landmark project will put our country on the map as a leader in renewable energy,” Marcos Jnr said.
“The Terra Solar power project is designed to address two critical challenges of our time: the surging demand for electricity and the pressing need to shift to renewable and sustainable sources of energy.”
The MTerra Solar Project is set to deliver clean solar energy under a 20-year, 850 MW midmerit power supply agreement to Meralco, with the initial block of 600 MW slated for delivery by February 2026.
The remaining 250 MW will follow in February 2027, reinforcing the company’s pledge to source 1,500 MW of its power supply requirements from renewable energy.
Meralco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manuel Pangilinan said numbers alone fail to articulate the full significance of the project.
“We are making a statement that the Philippines is not only keeping pace with the global energy transition but more so express our intention, the Philippines’ intention to lead the migration from thermal to renewables,” Pangilinan said.
“We will build, we will take action, and we will never stop daring. At the end, this is all showing the world what Filipinos can achieve when the public and private sectors work together with focus and urgency.”
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