This celebration unfolds on Tuesday for tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan as the Meralco group officially inaugurates the first phase of the MTerra Solar project in a ceremony led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. alongside government and business leaders.
The occasion is made even more significant as Pangilinan marks his own milestone, turning 80 after decades of building and leading some of the country’s biggest companies and utilities.
Located in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, the P200-billion MTerra project combines a 3,500-megawatt-peak solar farm with a 4,500-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system.
Once fully completed, it is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power about 2.4 million households while strengthening the reliability of the Luzon power grid.
The project is being developed by Terra Solar Philippines Inc., a Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) company. Since taking control of the project in 2023, MGEN has transformed MTerra Solar into what it says is the world’s largest integrated solar and battery energy storage facility.
Pangilinan, who typically celebrates his birthday through business engagements and charitable activities, chairs Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp., with business interests spanning electricity distribution, toll roads, water, hospitals, mining, logistics and other critical infrastructure. He is also chair and CEO of telco giant PLDT Inc.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
