China-headquartered electronics firm Huawei has secured a supply agreement to provide a 4.5GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for the Meralco Terra Solar project in the Philippines.
The agreement was announced yesterday (9 December) in a statement released by project developer Terra Solar Philippines, a company set up specifically for it as a subsidiary of independent power producer SP New Energy Corporation, which in turn is a subsidiary of developer Solar Philippines. The BESS supply agreement marks Huawei’s largest to date.
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Construction started on the Meralco Terra Solar solar-plus-storage project in November 2024. The site is claimed to be the world’s largest integrated power plant that combines the two technologies.
The project will include 3.5GWp of solar PV generation capacity and a 4.5GWh BESS to be built across 3,500 hectares of land in the two provinces of Bulacan and Nueva Ecija. It will begin commercial operations in two phases, with the first scheduled for February 2026 and the second for February 2027.
Earlier this year, Huawei emerged as one of the largest BESS providers globally, in the top five according to research last year by Wood Mackenzie. Regarding large-scale BESS deployment, Huawei recently provided its Smart String ESS LUNA2000-2.0MWH-4HL batteries combined with its Luna 2000-200KTL-HO inverters for a 204MW system in Romania.
While the company did not explicitly mention the BESS solution for the Terra Solar project, it did provide details on the features it will include.
Huawei said the system will include containerised batteries and essential auxiliary components such as fire suppression systems, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, battery management systems, power conversion systems (PCS) and energy management systems (EMS).
The company will also include step-up transformers to connect to the 34.5kV busbar at the main substation. These systems will allow the Terra Solar project to store excess electricity generated during low-demand periods and supply it back to the grid during peak demand, ensuring a more stable and resilient energy supply.
Emmanuel Rubio, president and CEO of Meralco PowerGen Corporation, believes including a sizable BESS will help optimise the solar PV power plant and integrate it into the grid.
“By combining Meralco Terra Solar’s vast solar power generation capacity with Huawei’s cutting-edge energy storage solutions, we are creating a powerful synergy that will optimise grid operations, ensuring a consistent and uninterrupted power supply,” Rubio said.
The world’s largest solar-plus-storage project
The Terra Solar project was proposed in 2022 by infrastructure group Prime Infrastructure Holdings (Prime Infra) through a joint venture (JV) with Solar Philippines after the pair won a tender to provide power to utility Manila Electric Company (Meralco).
Under the terms of their contract, they must supply 850MW of clean energy to Meralco, 600MW by the first quarter of 2026 and 150MW a year later in 2027. Meralco’s renewables subsidiary, MGen Renewable Energy (MGreen), also owns a controlling interest in SPNEC.
In addition, UK private equity infrastructure investor Actis agreed in September to take a 40% equity stake in Terra Solar for around US$600 million, which would be used towards the project’s development and expansion.
