MGen Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen) recently entered into a joint venture agreement with Vena Energy (Vena), a leading renewable energy company in the Asia-pacific region, for the development, construction, and operation of a 68 MWac solar plant in Ilocos Norte under Nuevo Solar Energy Corp. (NSEC).
The 68 MWac solar project located in the municipality of Currimao in Ilocos Norte, which is targeted to commence operations by Q1 of 2023, is an adjacent project to Vena’s existing 16 MWac Garcia solar project in the area commissioned in 2016.
“We are excited with this new partnership with Vena Energy. This project in Ilocos is the latest addition to our ongoing 1,500 MW target of renewable energy projects, showcasing our Company’s stern commitment to transition towards low-carbon energy in an orderly and cost-competitive manner anchored on ONE MERALCO’s long-term sustainability agenda,” said MGen and GBP President & CEO Jaime T. Azurin.
“We are starting the year 2022 strong with the intention to fast-track the attainment of this goal within the next seven years that is ultimately in support of the country’s achievement of 35% RE share by 2030 and eventually, 50% by 2040,” he added.
“We are delighted to have MGreen as our partner for the joint development, construction and operation of this project, which combines our experience and on-the-ground execution and make a significant impact in accelerating the energy transition in the Philippines. Locally, we have a portfolio of five operational wind and solar projects totalling 248 MW, and a development pipeline of more than 1.1 GW, and we are confident that our local knowledge and expertise will successfully deliver this project to the region,” said Samrinder Nehria, Head of Vena Energy Philippines.
MGreen is the renewable energy unit of Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen). With a total capacity of 2,446 MW, MGen is the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco). In 2021, the Company commenced commercial operations of BulacanSol’s 55 MWac solar plant, its first RE venture located in San Miguel, Bulacan. This was immediately followed by the groundbreaking of another 75 MWac solar project in Baras, Rizal through PH Renewables, Inc.
Vena Energy owns, develops, constructs, operates, manages and commercializes a renewable energy portfolio totalling 16 GW(1) of solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, battery storage and hybrid renewable energy projects, with 48 corporate and site offices in Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Since entering the Philippines in 2014, Vena Energy’s renewable energy portfolio consists of 248 MW of solar and wind projects, and a further 1.1GW of projects in development.
(1) Includes assets in operation, construction, and shovel ready (OCSR) stages, and projects in various stages of development.