The company plans to invest 3.5GW of photovoltaic power and 4.5GWh of energy storage in the Philippines

Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has agreed to enter a strategic partnership with Manila Electric Company (Meralco) and its subsidiary, Solar Philippines New Energy Corporation, to invest in the Terra Solar Project, poised to be the world’s largest integrated renewables and energy storage project.

[1]The transaction represents the largest foreign direct investment for a greenfield infrastructure project in the Philippines and will see Actis bring its rich experience in contracting, building and operating infrastructure assets to the project.

The project, which is strategically located on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, about 100km from Manila, will combine 3.5GWp of solar PV capacity with 4.5GWh of battery energy storage system (BESS). The project covers circa 3,500 hectares or the equivalent to the size of c.83,300 basketball courts – and is backed by a 20-years, 850MW (for 12-hours daily on average) power supply agreement (PSA) with Meralco, the Philippines’ largest distribution utility. It will provide electricity to approximately 2.4 million households and avoid carbon emissions by circa 3.6 million tonnes per year by displacing coal.

[2]The transaction with Solar Philippines New Energy Corporation, which currently owns 100% of the project, was announced at a signing ceremony in Pasig City, Philippines, attended by Torbjorn Caesar, Chairman and Senior Partner at Actis, Manuel V. Pangilinan, Chairman of Meralco, and Emmanuel V. Rubio, CEO of Meralco PowerGen (MGen).

The Philippines is one of the largest economies in Southeast Asia and among the fastest growing across the Asia Pacific region, with GDP growth of circa 6% forecast from 2023-2027.

[3] The country has an established energy sector, with private companies operating across generation, transmission and distribution. It has also set the ambitious goal of increasing renewable energy generation to 35% of the country’s total by 2030.

[4]To support this transition, around 5GW of solar and wind power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been awarded in recent years, with an additional two rounds of auctions of c.12GW expected to follow over the next year. The Terra Solar Project PSA will play a key role in meeting this demand for renewable energy.

[5]The project has strong sustainability credentials, notably because of its impact in decarbonising the Philippines’ energy system (SDG7), but also by generating power to support economic development (SDG8), creating more than 10,000 new jobs (SDG8), and facilitating local development (SDGs3+4).

By Actis