SPNEC breaks ground on 3,500-MW solar project

SPNEC on Jan. 1 broke ground for what it claims to be the world’s largest solar project that will span 3,500 hectares of land in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. Once completed, the 3,500-megawatt solar farm is expected to generate over 5 billion kilowatt-hours annually. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA  —SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC) on Monday broke ground on what it claims to be the world’s largest solar project that will span the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

SPNEC, which is now headed by billionaire Manuel Pangilinan after being elected chair and chief executive, said its wholly owned subsidiary Terra Solar Philippines Inc. would undertake the 3,500-megawatt (MW) solar and 4,000 megawatt-hour battery energy storage project.

Once completed, it will be larger than the world’s current biggest solar farms, China’s Golmud and India’s Bhadla solar parks with over 2,200 MW in capacity, according to SPNEC.

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It will also be bigger than the Philippines’ combined solar projects currently in operation at over 1,500 MW, based on data from the Department of Energy.

The first phase of the 3,500-hectare project is set to be delivered by the first quarter of 2026 following site clearing activities and the installation of more than 5 million solar panels.

With an estimated cost of P200 billion, the Terra Solar project is expected to generate over 5 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually, or an estimated 5 percent of the total volume of the Philippine grid and 12 percent of the country’s annual demand, SPNEC said.

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Late last year, MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen), the renewable energy firm of distributor Manila Electric Co., completed its P15.9-billion investment in SPNEC via share subscription.

MGreen’s acquisition made it the controlling shareholder of SPNEC with 50.5-percent voting interest.