MGen, Vena Energy complete fund for 550-MW solar park
The Meralco group, through its MGen Renewable Energy Inc., and Singapore’s Vena Energy have completed the financing for their 550-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Pangasinan.
Simone Grasso, chief investment officer at Vena Energy, said the group received strong backing from lenders, with the Philippines and other nations in the Asia-Pacific region speeding up their shift to clean energy.
“This facility will be instrumental in driving our growth in the Philippines as we continue to deliver innovative green solutions to our customers and accelerate the energy transition across the Asia Pacific region,” Grasso said.
When asked, Vena Energy declined to disclose the cost of the project. Industry sources estimate that producers must shell out P40 million to P50 million per megawatt. Based on that, the project could require P22 billion to P27.5 billion in funding.
Still, Vena Energy said the development is partly financed through an P18.3-billion green loan facility secured from Security Bank Corp., Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), and Philippine National Bank (PNB).
Construction works have already begun, according to Vena Energy. Its completion is expected by the latter part of this year.
Once up and running, the project located in Bugallon town will generate about 958 million kilowatt-hours of clean energy annually, equivalent to powering more than 810,000 Philippine households.
MGreen, the clean energy unit of Meralco PowerGen Corp., sealed in August 2024 an investment deal with Vena Energy related the construction and management of the solar power plant under corporate vehicle 3 Barracuda Energy Corp.
The project is considered to be “one of the biggest solar power ventures in the Philippines.”
MGen president Emmanuel Rubio earlier said that the project could help the group achieve 1,500 MW of attributable renewable energy by 2030.
Also, both parties teamed up for a 68-megawatt solar park in Currimao, Ilocos Norte, a facility that was activated in March 2023.
Vena Energy has a portfolio of 39,000 megawatts of renewable energy across the Asia-Pacific region, mainly sourced from onshore wind and solar as well as offshore wind facilities.
