The country's largest integrated solar and battery project has started supplying electricity to the Luzon grid after the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines cleared an initial 750 megawatts of capacity for testing and commissioning.
Energy officials said that the approval allows electricity from the initial 750-megawatt phase of the MTerra Solar project to be injected into the grid during testing and commissioning.
The project, located across Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, comprises a 3,500-megawatt-peak solar farm and a 4,500-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, making it one of the world's largest integrated solar and battery facilities.
The project is being developed by Terra Solar Philippines, Inc., and is expected to supply clean electricity to about 2.4 million households once fully completed.
The second phase of the project is scheduled for completion next year, which is expected to help the developer exceed its renewable energy capacity target of 1,500 MW by 2027.
Under a power supply agreement, the project will provide 850 MW of mid-merit capacity to a major energy firm.
The project's initial 250 MW was energized in March, marking the start of its contribution to the grid, and the developer aims to energize an additional 600 MW this month to bring the project's energized capacity to 1,350 MW.
Once fully completed, the MTerra Solar project will be a major contributor to the country's renewable energy capacity, helping to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and mitigate the impact of climate change.
The project's developer has said that the entire project will be bigger than a major city in the country, highlighting its significant scale and potential impact.
