MERALCO POWERGEN CORP. (MGen), the power generation subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), is nearly halfway toward the completion of the P200-billion MTerra Solar Power Project, with 700 megawatts-peak (MWp) of solar panels targeted for installation by end-July, its president said.
“Probably around 44 to 45% completion,” MGen President and Chief Executive Officer Manuel V. Rubio told reporters on the sidelines of Schneider Electric Innovation Day Philippines 2025 on Tuesday.
Mr. Rubio was referring to the status of what is expected to be the world’s largest integrated solar photovoltaic and battery energy storage system (BESS) facility.
Spanning over 3,500 hectares across Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, MTerra Solar is developing a 3,500-MWp solar power plant and a 4,500-megawatt-hour (MWh) energy storage system.
Mr. Rubio said the company is on track to complete the first phase of the project by the first quarter of 2026.
MGen has already installed 90-100 MWp of solar panels.
Once operational, MTerra Solar will supply clean electricity to approximately 2.4 million households and displace an estimated 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
For the planned MTerra Solar 2, Mr. Rubio said the company will execute the project once it secures the necessary land.
Mr. Rubio said MGen is also looking to develop up to a 40-MWh BESS in Cardona, Cebu.
The project is targeted to be operational by the third quarter of 2026.
With MGen’s pipeline projects, the company is expected to surpass its goal of 1,500 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rubio said MGen has held initial talks with energy solutions company Schneider Electric to integrate predictive analytics and distributed control systems into its coal plant units that are more than 10 years old.
“But I think one of the major opportunities is to actually use AI (artificial intelligence) in how we operate the Terra Solar 1,” he said.
Meralco’s controlling stakeholder, Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc., is partly owned by PLDT Inc.
Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera
