Solar Philippines plans 4-GW cluster in Nueva Ecija, Bulacan

Solar Philippines’ listed unit Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corporation (PSE:SPNEC) is working to secure land for a new 3.5-GW solar farm to be coupled with an existing project and form what it says will be the world’s largest solar power plant.

The company said on Wednesday that it is allocating proceeds from its various capital raises to obtain at least 2,500 hectares of land in the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Bulacan. In this area, SPNEC is already building the first phase of a 500-MW solar park along with the needed transmission line but has plans for an even larger development, having been consolidating land and permits for it since 2016.

With a combined capacity of 4 GW, this cluster will significantly exceed the 2.2-GW-plus Bhadla solar farm in India as the world’s largest such facility. For comparison, the Philippines’ total grid-connected solar capacity at the end of 2021 was over 1.3 GW.

“Over the years, others did not believe these ranchlands far from the grid could be the site for a solar farm. By the end of this year, our planned share issuances should result in the consolidation of ingredients that would enable SPNEC to expand its flagship project to be the world’s largest solar farm,” said Leandro Leviste, founder of Solar Philippines.

To finance its plan, the company will rely on proceeds from various capital raising initiatives, including a stock rights offering (SRO), scheduled to be priced tomorrow, among other share issuances and the previously-announced asset-for-share swap with parent company Solar Philippines.

SPNEC hopes to reach 8 GW of contracted capacity with a commercial operation date between 2025 and 2026.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!