ERC OKs P14 billion grid link for world’s largest solar farm

MANILA, Philippines — The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has approved the P14.2-billion grid integration of Pangilinan-led Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN)’s MTerra Solar, which is poised to become the world’s largest integrated solar farm.

MGEN, through Terra Solar Philippines Inc. (TSPI), received the green light to build and own dedicated point-to-point limited transmission facilities to connect the project to the Luzon grid.

On an interim basis, the solar farm will be linked to the grid through a bus-in connection to the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP)’s Nagsaag-Marilao/San Jose 500 kiloVolt (kV) transmission line.

It will be then transferred to the NGCP’s proposed San Isidro 500 kV substation for its final connection scheme.

The ERC has assigned the NGCP to operate and maintain the transmission assets to ensure the reliability, security and stability of the national grid.

Given this, TSPI was ordered to submit a copy of its executed operation and maintenance agreement with the grid operator within 30 days from its execution.

“In case the subject assets shall be required for competitive purposes, the ownership of the same shall be transferred to NGCP as contribution-in-aid of contribution,” the ERC ruled.

Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, a generation firm may develop, own and operate dedicated transmission facilities, provided that such assets are required only for the purpose of connecting to the country’s electrical superhighway.

According to the ERC, the grid integration of the MTerra Solar project is expected to help address the country’s growing energy demand, particularly in Luzon.

Luzon’s peak demand reached 13,839 megawatts as of April, while its dependable capacity stood at 19,778 MW.

Spanning across Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, MTerra Solar consists of a 3,500-MW solar farm equipped with a 4,500-MW-hour battery energy storage system.

Once completed, the project’s generation output will be dispatched through a power supply agreement with energy utility giant Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

Any excess power generated will be offered to the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the centralized venue for electricity trading.

MGEN, the power generation arm of Meralco, took over MTerra Solar in 2023 after acquiring a controlling stake in TSPI parent SP New Energy Corp.

With a capital investment of around P200 billion, the project will be completed in phases, with the first phase by 2026 and the second phase by 2027.