TotalEnergies and its partner Nextnorth have initiated the construction of a 440MW-peak (MWp) solar power plant in the Philippines, having achieved financial closure.

The project, situated in the City of Ilagan, Province of Isabela, is jointly owned by TotalEnergies, with a 65% stake, and Nextnorth, holding 35%.

The solar plant is scheduled to become operational by late 2027.

Once operational, the project is set to generate 13.5TW-hours over two decades.

More than half of this electricity will be sold through long-term agreements with retail electricity suppliers AdventEnergy and PrimeRES, catering to commercial and industrial users that are aiming to reduce carbon emissions.

The rest will be supplied to the national grid, in line with its allocation under Round 4 of the Philippines Government’s Green Energy Auction Programme.

TotalEnergies renewables SVP Olivier Jouny said: “We are delighted with our partner Nextnorth to start the construction of this major solar project in Philippines, thereby contributing to the country’s goal of increasing renewables in its generation energy mix.

“These 440MW will contribute to the 9GW renewables portfolio that we are combining with Masdar through a 50/50 joint venture across nine Asian countries.”

The project involves an estimated investment of $300m (18.43bn pesos), making it the largest international financing endeavour for a solar project in the Philippines.

Financial backing is provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, ING Bank and Standard Chartered.

Nextnorth, established in 2022 and based in Metro Manila, specialises in the development of clean energy projects and currently manages a portfolio exceeding 800MW.

The company focuses on creating utility-scale renewable solutions to support the energy transition and economic growth in the Philippines.

Nextnorth president and CEO Miguel Mapa said: “Energy security has never been more relevant for the Philippines than it is today.

“With rising demand and continued exposure to imported fuels, the country needs domestic, scalable and bankable renewable capacity.

“Working alongside TotalEnergies, we are delivering clean, reliable power that supports communities, creates jobs and advances the Philippines’ transition toward a more energy independent future.”

In February this year, TotalEnergies signed two long-term power purchase agreements with Google to provide 1GW of solar energy in Texas, US.