THE COUNTRY’S largest integrated solar and battery project has begun supplying electricity to the Luzon grid after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) cleared an initial 750 megawatts (MW) of capability for testing and commissioning, the Department of Energy (DoE) said on Monday.
Energy Undersecretary Mario C. Marasigan said NGCP’s approval allows electricity from the initial 750-MW phase of the MTerra Solar project to be injected into the grid during testing and commissioning.
“We’re already counting on those megawatts being delivered by Terra Solar and hopefully in the approaching months, we’ll reach 1,350 (MW),” he said during a briefing.
Positioned across Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, the P200-billion MTerra Solar project comprises a 3,500-megawatt-peak (MWp) solar farm and a 4,500-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system, making it one among the world’s largest integrated solar and battery facilities.
The project is being developed by Terra Solar Philippines, Inc., an affiliate of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN), the facility generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
In March, MGEN announced that it had energized the project’s initial 250 MW, marking the beginning of its contribution to the grid.
Dennis Jordan, president and chief executive officer of MGEN Renewable Energy, Inc., earlier said the corporate goals to energise an extra 600 MW this month to bring the project’s energized capability to 1,350 MW.
“Your entire project can be greater than Pasig,” Mr. Jordan said in an interview on Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News last week.
The second phase of the project is scheduled for completion next 12 months, which is predicted to assist MGEN exceed its renewable energy capability goal of 1,500 MW by 2027.
Once fully accomplished, MTerra Solar is predicted to produce clean electricity to about 2.4 million households.
Under an influence supply agreement, the project will provide 850 MW of mid-merit capability to Meralco.
Meralco’s controlling shareholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Useful Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera