The first phase of an integrated solar and battery project under construction in the Philippines has been officially synchronised and energised, less than 15 months since groundbreaking and on the way to becoming the world’s largest such project.

Filipino energy generator Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN), through its affiliate Terra Solar Philippines (MTerra Solar), announced over the weekend that it had successfully completed the initial grid synchronisation and energisation of the massive MTerra Solar project which, when it is fully completed, will boast 3.5-gigawatts (GW) of solar and 4.5-gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery energy storage.

Stretching across six municipalities in the Filipino provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, the 3,500-hectare MTerra Solar Project is being developed across two massive phases.

Phase 1, which is still under construction, but which was successfully connected to the Filipino grid, will measure in at 2.5 GW of solar and 3.3 MWh of battery storage. The second phase will come in at around 1 GW of solar and 1.2 GWh of battery storage.

Once completed, the MTerra Solar Project will be the world’s largest hybrid solar facility, not to mention among the biggest solar farms or battery projects in the world.

MTerra Solar successfully late last week completed the energisation and cut-in of the project’s 500 kV substation along the Nagsaag–San Jose 500-kV Line 2, a critical infrastructure component supporting the project’s grid integration.

While only 250 MWac of solar capacity and 112.5 MWh of battery storage will be ready by the end of February, MTerra Solar says that it had completed the installation of 1,288 MWdc of installed solar PV capacity by the end of January along with the installation of 622 battery energy storage system (BESS) units.

The project will soon begin to export 85 MW of constant power to the local grid, demonstrating the project’s stability and reliability, ahead of a scheduled ramp up in its overall capacity.

“MTerra Solar proves the Philippines can build big—and build fast,” said Emmanuel V. Rubio, president and CEO of MGEN.

“Today’s energisation is not the finish line; it is the start of a bigger journey that will expand our capacity, broaden our impact, and demonstrate that the Philippines can lead in delivering renewable energy at scale.”

MTerra Solar is working closely with the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to ensure the projects seamless integration with the grid and coordinating to maintain grid stability as more solar power is brought online.

More information:https://reneweconomy.com.au/worlds-largest-solar-battery-hybrid-project-powers-up-in-the-philippines/