Meralco unit names UK-based Actis as partner for P200-B Terra Solar park

Billionaire Manuel Pangilinan’s goal of bringing Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) to the international spotlight may soon be realized as Meralco welcomes a foreign investor to help build a mammoth P200-billion solar power plant in Central Luzon.

Emmanuel Rubio, president and CEO of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), announced this development in a press briefing Friday, just over a month after Pangilinan said they were ready to choose a new partner to beef up the group’s financial muscle.

From a “very long list” of interested parties, MGen, Meralco’s power generation unit, signed a strategic partnership with global investment firm Actis for the Terra Solar project.

READ: Meralco group secures P2.9-B funding for solar farms in Nueva Ecija, Isabela

According to the MVP Group, Actis will inject P34 billion into the project, representing a 40-percent stake in Terra Solar Philippines.

SPNEC, which bought Terra Solar for P6 billion from Prime Infrastructure Inc. in December 2023, leads the development of the facility that straddles the boundary of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

Designed to be the biggest yet in the world, the project will have 3,500 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and 4,000 MW-hours of battery storage.

“To choose the right partner is not an easy task. It was an extensive and rigorous process, one that required us to carefully consider every potential partner’s strengths, values, and track record. In Actis, we have found that ideal partner,” Rubio said.

The CEO added that London-based Actis’ reputation as a global investment firm “already precedes itself,” being focused on sustainable infrastructure and having more than US$9 billion of capital pledged or committed in energy.

The two-phase construction of Terra Solar is expected to be finished by 2027.

Rubio said that, once up and running, the projects may be seen from outer space.

It can provide power to more than 2.4 million households.

“We expect our strategic partnership will not only put the Philippines in the global spotlight, it will also thrust Meralco into the international stage as a leader in the renewable energy space, through its ownership of the world’s largest hybrid solar project,” he added.