MGen activates Nueva Ecija solar farm
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MANILA, Philippines — The clean energy unit of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) has switched on its 19.8-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Bongabon in Nueva Ecija province.
The company said Wednesday that MGEN Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen) completed the project six months ahead of schedule.
The Bongabon solar has the capacity to provide power to at least 20,000 households and establishments and cut greenhouse gas emissions by about 19,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
READ: MGen, Vena Energy complete fund for 550-MW solar park
MGen said the facility was the first project in the second round of the green energy auction, a government initiative meant to speed up the rollout of renewables projects across the country.
“The facility also strengthens MGen’s goal to develop up to 1,500 MW of attributable renewable energy capacity by 2030,” it said.
For this year, the group said MGreen targets to fire up an additional 85.2 MW solar capacity. The firm is focused now on two projects—a new solar facility in Cordon, Isabela; and the expansion of its solar project in Baras, Rizal.
MGen, serving as the power generation arm of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Co., has an energy portfolio of 2,602 MW.
Through its renewable energy vehicle SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC), MGen is set to make a name in the global scene once the MTerra Solar project in Luzon—poised to be the world’s largest solar facility—becomes operational by 2027.
The P200-billion MTerra Solar is designed to have 3,500 MW of total capacity and a massive 4,500 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
The first phase, with a target capacity of 2,500 megawatts (MW), is eyed for completion by 2026. The second phase with a capacity of 1,000 MW may go online by 2027.
In September last year, SPNEC welcomed global investment firm Actis as its new partner, injecting P34 billion into the solar development, or equivalent to 40 percent in Terra Solar Philippines.
Once fired up, the MTerra Solar could deliver power to more than 2.4 million households in the country.
