Actis has agreed to acquire a stake of 40% in the Terra Solar integrated renewables and energy storage project in the Philippines from Manila Electric (Meralco) and its subsidiary, Solar Philippines New Energy (SPNEC), in a deal worth about $600m.
To be located on the Philippines’ main island of Luzon, about 100km from Manila, the project will have a combined capacity of 3.5GW solar photovoltaic (PV) and 4.5GWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
Currently, the renewables and energy storage project is fully owned by SPNEC. The Terra Solar facility will cover approximately 3,500ha of land.
The transaction is said to be the largest foreign direct investment for a greenfield infrastructure project in the country. It will enable the joint development and expansion of the solar PV and BESS project.
Actis energy infrastructure head and partner Lucy Heintz said: “The scale of the Terra Solar Project and its capacity to provide clean power is enormous. It’s the single biggest such project in the world, visible from space, and Actis’ investment in the project marks an exciting moment.
“As a new investor in the project, Actis will bring its decades’ worth of expertise investing in global scale energy generation.”
Once fully commissioned, the Terra Solar project is expected to provide electricity to nearly 2.4 million Philippine households. It is also projected to eliminate approximately 3.6 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually by displacing coal.
Additionally, the project will generate over 10,000 new jobs and foster local development.
Furthermore, the Philippine solar PV and BESS project will contribute towards the country’s goal of increasing renewable energy generation to 35% of its total electricity production by 2030.
The greenfield renewables and energy storage project is supported by a 20-year power supply agreement (PSA) with Meralco, to deliver an average of 850MW of green energy for 12 hours daily.
Meralco chairman and CEO Manuel Pangilinan said: “Terra Solar is one of the most ambitious renewables projects the world has ever seen.
“We are looking forward to contributing to the Government’s goal to have 35% of the country’s energy to come from renewable energy.”
Subject to certain conditions precedent and relevant regulatory approvals, the transaction is anticipated to be completed by Q1 2025.
For the transaction, Morgan Stanley was the financial adviser to Actis, while the UBS Singapore branch acted as the financial adviser to SPNEC.
Last year, Actis launched a new $500m Japan-focused renewables platform called Nozomi Energy with an aim to achieve 1.1GW of onshore wind and solar power generation by 2027.
