SPNEC breaks ground for world’s largest solar project

MANILA, Philippines — SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) has broken ground for the Terra Solar development in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, touted as the world’s largest solar project.

SPNEC said work has commenced on clearing the site, which will eventually cover approximately 3,500 hectares.

Target delivery of the first phase of the project is by the first quarter of 2026.

To meet this timeline, SPNEC said it is expediting site clearing activities ahead of the construction of the project’s interconnection facilities with the national grid and the installation of over five million solar panels.

SPNEC earlier said over 3,000 hectares of land have been secured for its projects, most of which have already been converted to industrial use.

The company has likewise completed the solar panel installation for the first of its Nueva Ecija solar developments.

The Terra Solar project will consist of 3,500 megawatts of solar panels and 4,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of battery storage, with an estimated cost of P200 billion.

It is expected to generate over five billion kilowatt-hours annually, or an estimated five percent of the total volume of the Philippine grid and 12 percent of its total demand.

The project will be larger than India’s Bhadla Solar Park and China’s Golmud Solar Park, currently the world’s largest solar farms at over 2.2 gigawatts (GW).

It will also exceed the capacity of all grid-connected solar projects operating in the Philippines combined at over 1.5 GW, according to the Department of Energy’s latest figures as of 2023.

The Terra Solar project will be owned through SPNEC’s 100 percent-owned subsidiary, Terra Solar Philippines Inc.

SPNEC said accelerated work on the project comes with the completion of the P15.9-billion investment of MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen) in the company last Dec. 27.

Proceeds of the MGreen investment will be used primarily for the 3,500-MW solar and 4,000-MWh battery project.

MGreen is the renewable energy development arm of Meralco Powergen Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Manila Electric Co., the country’s largest private distribution utility company.