Construction of world's largest solar project begins: 3,500 hectares

The world can only avoid a climate disaster by accelerating the expansion of renewable energies, with the big countries playing an active role. The records for installed power and the size of photovoltaic and wind farms keep getting surpassed frequently. The announcement for constructing what will be "the largest solar project in the world" has now come from the Philippine Islands.

The Solar Philippines New Energy Corporation SPNEC disclosed that the primary use of proceeds for the investment would be the 3500 MW solar and 4000 MWh battery project. Analysts commented that MGreen's investment would accelerate the execution of SPNEC's projects.

Right now, SPNEC is speeding up the process of clearing the site. They’re also getting ready to connect the project to the national grid and install over five million solar panels. They’ve already secured over 3,000 hectares for projects in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, with a focus on industrial use.

Luzon builds massive Terra Solar

Work has already started on the island of Luzon to build a huge solar park. It should be finished in two years and will have 5 million solar panels. The park, called Terra Solar, will have 3,400-3,500 MW of solar panels and 4,000 Mwh of battery storage, according to reports from US media, mentioned by the Xataka portal.

The investment will amount to around 3.3 billion euros and, in total, the complex could potentially generate more than 5 billion kilowatt hours per year. These truly exceptional figures give a sense of the work's magnitude.

The Solar Philippines New Energy Corporation (SPNEC) is the company behind this massive project. Their goal is to meet a significant portion of the country’s energy needs: 5% of the total power supply and 12% of the demand. This park will be larger and more powerful than any other in the world, including Bhadla in India and Golmund in China.

They will build Terra Solar on an impressive 3,500 hectares of forest land in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, in Central Luzon. For perspective, Francisco Pizarro, the largest solar plant in Spain, spans 1,300 hectares (less than half the size) and contains 1.6 million solar panels. Despite its size, it doesn't compare to what they are building in the Philippines.

Building large solar complexes like this one is helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to global warming. Renewable energy sources have helped cut these emissions by 8% in Europe.

However, there’s a downside to these projects. They can harm biodiversity. When we use large areas of land for these projects, we can disrupt the local wildlife and plant life. These are essential for maintaining balanced ecosystems, which our health depends on, according to experts.

Philippines building world’s largest solar farm

Solar Philippines first shared plans in 2021 to build a 500 MW solar farm on old ranch land in Peñaranda. That same year, in December, SPNEC made its first appearance on the Philippine Stock Exchange, setting its initial public offering at PHP 1 per share. In 2022, the company revealed plans to add 3.5 GW to the original 500 MW solar farm in Luzon, making the project eight times bigger.

SPNEC announced that they are using the money raised from various capital raises to purchase the land for the 3.5 GW project extension. This includes a stock rights offering they previously announced, to raise at least PHP 10 billion ($179 million), and a planned asset-for-share swap with their parent company, Solar Philippines, which they expect to complete by the end of 2022.

Leandro Leviste, the founder of Solar Philippines, said the company had been trying to get land permits from the Department of Energy since 2016 for the project. The project will extend 60 kilometers to connect to NGCP’s (National Grid Corp. of the Philippines) substations that supply the Greater Manila Area.

One analyst told pv magazine that legal changes and a more open energy market have made the Philippines the go-to place for developing large-scale solar arrays in Southeast Asia.

According to a 2022 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the Philippines aims to install 15 GW of clean energy by 2030. The country might focus on mini-grids and standalone clean power systems because of its many islands.

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