Leviste leaves board seats in SPNEC, MTerra Solar
Leandro Leviste has resigned as director of Terra Solar Philippines, Inc. and SP New Energy Corp. (SPNEC)—two firms that the businessman lawmaker started under his Solar Philippines group, but are now controlled by the Meralco group.
Terra Solar—also known as MTerra Solar—and its direct parent firm, SPNEC, both announced Leviste’s exit on Friday. They are both affiliates of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen), the renewable energy subsidiary of Manila Electric Co.
MTerra Solar said it has “strengthened” its board leadership with the appointment of an industry veteran to replace Leviste. This is Emmanuel Rubio, president and CEO of MGen.
According to MGen, Leviste left the post on Jan. 20. The company did not disclose the reason for his departure when asked.
In a separate disclosure, SPNEC said Leviste had also resigned as a member of its board of directors, citing “personal reasons.”
The politician has been making headlines recently due to his revelations related to infrastructure-related corruption.
Another headline magnet is that companies in which he is involved racked up P24 billion in penalties for energy projects that did not progress. The lack of progress prompted the government to terminate the contracts for these projects.
This development came as MTerra Solar’s P200-billion solar park neared initial commercial operations.
“This transition marks a natural progression for MTerra Solar as it approaches commissioning,” Rubio said.
“Strengthening board leadership at this stage ensures closer alignment between strategic oversight, system integration and operational execution as we move toward delivering clean, reliable power to the grid,” he added.
The project, located in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, is designed to be the biggest yet in the global market. It involves 3,500 megawatts (MW) of solar panels and 4,000 megawatt-hours of battery storage.
MTerra Solar intends to switch it on in phases. The first portion is slated for power-on within the quarter. By August, 1,500 MW is seen flowing into the grid from the solar park.
Earlier, the company said the first phase has a target capacity of 2,500 MW. The second phase, meanwhile, will have 1,000 MW activated by 2027.
Meanwhile, SPNEC is seeking regulatory approval to change its corporate name, stock symbol and company logo to MGen Renewable Energy Holdings, Inc.
SPNEC said the change of name is intended “to strengthen alignment and consistency across the One MGen group as it presents a unified identity for its diversified power generation portfolio, including renewable energy.”
