SPNEC secures P3.78-B loan for Tarlac solar expansion

SP NEW ENERGY CORP. (SPNEC) has secured a P3.78-billion loan from the Philippine National Bank (PNB) to fund the expansion of its solar farm in Tarlac.

In a regulatory filing on Monday, the company said its board of directors approved the creation of a security interest over the shares of subsidiary Solar Philippines Tarlac Corp. (SPTC) to secure repayment of the loan.

SPNEC will also support the issuance of a financial guarantee to ensure repayment.

“SPTC loan is meant for expansion of the existing solar plant and to refinance the existing loan for better rates,” the company said.

SPTC operates a 900-megawatt alternating current (MWac) solar farm in Concepcion, Tarlac, covering 126 hectares.

The planned expansion will add 31 MWac of capacity.

Separately, SPNEC is pursuing its flagship MTerra Solar Project, which will deploy over five million solar panels across 3,500 hectares in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

Once completed by 2027, it will have 3,500 MW of solar capacity and a 4,500-megawatt-hour (MWh) battery energy storage system.

A syndicate of the country’s largest banks has committed around P150 billion in project financing.

SPNEC is engaged in the construction, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy plants and related services.

Shares in the company rose 0.74% to close at P1.36 apiece on Monday. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera