Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGen) reported that its largest solar project in the world is set to make significant progress within the second half of the year.

On the sidelines of Schneider Electric Philippines’ Innovation Day 2025 on Tuesday, May 20, MGen President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Emmanuel Rubio told reporters that MTerra Solar in Nueva Ecija is aiming to install 700 megawatts (MW) of solar panels to push the project forward from its current progress rate of 42 percent.

“Now, we’re at 90 to 100 MW of panels that were already laid out. By the end of July, the target is 700 MW,” he said.

According to MGen’s latest update, more than 5,000 contractors have already been deployed on site, with the workforce potentially reaching 16,000 by the peak of construction.

When asked if MGen is on track to achieve the first phase of the project, Rubio said it could be as early as March 2026 and that the focus is on completion before moving on to the next phase.

“But one thing for sure, the only time we will execute Terra Solar 2 is when we have secured the needed land. I don't want to be doing the project while buying land as we go. It’s not easy,” Rubio said.

MGen Renewable Energy Inc. (MGreen), which is MGen’s renewable energy (RE) unit, showcased the project’s developments during the first day of the Solar & Storage Live Philippines event on Monday, May 19.

“On the ground, a lot is already happening—from site clearing, site leveling, piling works, civil works on both the PV plant and substations, and the transmission lines up to the assembly of the structures that will hold hundreds of thousands of solar panels, the site is buzzing with activity,” said Dennis Jordan, president and CEO of MGreen and Terra Solar Philippines Inc.

Aside from solar developments within the project, Jordan also elaborated on battery energy storage system (BESS) integration, which would allow the solar power to be more flexible and reliable.

“To make this possible, we’re working with Huawei to deliver our cutting-edge BESS technology. This will include energy management systems to ensure performance, safety, and efficiency at scale,” he said in his speech.

In line with Schneider Electric’s celebration of its three decades in the Philippines, MGen disclosed its interest in partnering with the industrial tech firm.

“The initial talks with Schneider is to look into predictive analytics at our coal plants, Cebu Energy Development Corp. (CEDC) and Panay Energy Development Corp. (PEDC),” Rubio shared with reporters.

“These are units that are more than 10 years old. We’re talking about upgrades in its DCS [distributed control system]… Once we’re done with that, then we can actually consider predictive analytics.”

According to Rubio, predictive analytics through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) could be essential to their biggest solar facility project.

“I think one of the major opportunities is to actually use AI in how we operate the TerraSolar 1,” he said.

While Schneider Electric has yet to comment on this potential collaboration, its strategy and marketing director Carlos Leviste is looking forward to “be more carbon-neutral, less emissions, more sustainable inventions. We try to partner with the whole industry to achieve our goals.”

For its 30th anniversary, Schneider Electric brought together government leaders, business stakeholders, and other members of the power industry to discuss sustainable moves in the energy landscape through the 2025 Innovation Day.

The company currently brings in digital transformation solutions through integrating technologies, endpoint to cloud connecting products, controls, software, and services.