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4,500-MWh battery storage green-lit in the Philippines

The Philippines government has granted a ‘green lane certificate’ to the Terra Solar Philippines for its solar project with a 4,500 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

 

MGen and Meralco CEOs with Board of Investments (BOI) representatives | Image: BOI

In January 2024, the solar project broke ground in the Bulacan and Nueva Ecija provinces in the Philippines, immediately to the north of Manila. The involved companies are calling it the largest of its kind in the world.

The company responsible for the project, Terra Solar Philippines, Inc (TSPI) is a subsidiary of SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC), chaired by Pangilinan and MGen Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen), the renewable energy arm of MGen, which is a unit of Pangilinan-led Manila Electric Company (Meralco). 

The company said the green lane certificate, granted through its Board of Investments (BOI), could help it achieve its timeline to start commercial operations for the first phase by February 2026, and the second phase 12 months later, without detailing more about what these phases entail. Preceding the installation of over 5 million solar panels on the forested site, SPNEC conducted site-clearing activities to meet the first phase target.

Meralco PowerGen Company (MGen) president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio stated, “Having the green lane certificate is a testament to our commitment to excellence, innovation, and environmental stewardship. It’s also a recognition of our collective efforts to prioritize and fast track projects that will accelerate the country’s low carbon transition —and this one is expected to deliver by February 2026.”

The green lane certificate appears to be associated with an executive order signed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in February 2023, establishing the One-Stop Action Center for Strategic Investments within the government’s BOI. According to the government, this center “…aims to expedite the processing of permits and licenses for strategic investments —those with significant economic impact—across relevant national government agencies and local government units.”

“The basic objective of the Philippines now under this administration is not just to grow —we are already the fastest-growing economy in the region— but more importantly to transform the Philippine economy into a smart and sustainable hub for manufacturing and services, and exactly supporting that would be the sectors and industries that you are investing in,” BOI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said.

Different media sources have reported the project to entail 4000 MWh, which is now reported by the Philippine government to involve 4,500 MWh. Similarly large-scale projects are named as being India’s Bhadla Solar Park and China’s Golmud Solar Park, which are otherwise the world’s largest solar farms at over 2,200 MW. The Terra Solar and battery storage project in the Philippines is being described as a 3,500 MW project and is expected to generate more than five billion kilowatt-hours of electricity yearly.

In June 2024, the Philippines’ Department of Energy (DOE) said that energy storage and maximizing the country’s existing renewable energy infrastructure will be a major theme for its next green energy auction. GEA-4 will take place in the final quarter of 2024.

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