MTerra Solar commercial operations begin with 600MWac Phase 1 grid approval

MTerra Solar commercial operations are now under way in the Philippines, with 600MWac of mid-merit solar capacity entering service on 26 August 2026 under a Power Supply Agreement (PSA) with Meralco. The milestone followed the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issuing its Final Certificate of Approval to Connect, according to project developer Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN).

From synchronisation to MTerra Solar commercial operations in under seven months

The path to grid approval started earlier in the year. On 12 February, the project held its initial grid synchronisation and energisation event in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, attended by the Department of Energy (DOE), the NGCP and project partner Actis, Actis reported. Required tests were carried out in the weeks before the August certificate, clearing the final regulatory hurdle.

Between those two events came the formal inauguration of MTerra Solar Phase 1 on 14 July 2026, which marked the energisation of 1.373GWac of solar PV capacity alongside 825MW (equivalent to 3,300MWh) of battery energy storage. Commercial operations followed roughly six weeks later.

Rahul Agrawal, managing director and head of SEA Energy at Actis, framed the timeline as an operational proof point. ‘Given the scale of the project, taking it from groundbreaking to commercial power for Phase 1 in under two years is a huge achievement and testament to the operational capabilities of MGEN and Actis,’ he said.

Scale, structure and what still needs to be delivered

MTerra Solar is a joint investment of MGEN and Actis. At full build-out, the project is designed to deliver 3,500MWp of solar PV capacity paired with 4,500MWh of battery energy storage, with Actis having committed a US$600 million investment.

The facility has already met grid requirements to connect and operate 950MWac of solar capacity and 825MW of battery storage within the national grid. A further 250MWac of capacity under the same PSA is expected to enter commercial operations in the coming months, MGEN said, rounding out Phase 1’s contracted obligations.

Pairing storage with generation at this scale is the right architecture for a mid-merit contract: it avoids the intermittency problem that makes pure solar plants a poor fit for dispatchable obligations. Whether the 825MW of battery capacity can reliably deliver on that promise across a full PSA term is the question the operational data will eventually answer.

Philippine renewable targets and the policy backdrop

The project sits within a broader national energy strategy. According to Actis, MTerra Solar supports the Philippine Energy Plan and the government’s renewable energy targets of 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040, positioning it as one of the country’s largest energy infrastructure investments, Actis noted.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of Meralco and MGEN, linked the project’s scale directly to energy security. ‘By combining solar power with battery storage at an unprecedented scale, we’re demonstrating how renewable energy can strengthen energy security, support economic growth, and build a more resilient and sustainable power system for our country,’ he said.

Agrawal added that with MTerra Solar’s commercial operations under way, ‘we see renewables increasingly taking centre stage in the Philippines, providing clean, domestic, and secure power as energy demand rises.’

The 35% renewables target for 2030 is now less than four years away. MTerra Solar Phase 1’s 600MWac contribution, with another 250MWac to follow, represents one of the more concrete steps toward that number the country has so far been able to point to.