Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 1) — SP New Energy Corporation (SPNEC), now backed by tycoon Manuel V. Pangilinan, has broken ground for Terra Solar, its ?200-billion solar energy farm, dubbed to be the “world’s largest solar project.”

In a statement on Monday, SPNEC said it has started clearing the site, which will cover about 3,500 hectares in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan.

Once operational, SPNEC said that Terra Solar would be “larger” than India’s Bhadla Solar Park and China’s Golmud Solar Park.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by early 2026.

“To meet this timeline, SPNEC is expediting its site clearing activities ahead of the construction of the project’s interconnection facilities with the national grid and the installation of over 5 million solar panels,” it said.

Designed to be equipped with 3500 MW (megawatt) of solar panels and 4000 MWh (megawatt hour) of battery storage, the massive project will have the capacity to generate over 5 billion kilowatt-hours annually. This would also translate to an estimated 5% of the total volume of the Philippine grid and 12% of its total demand.

Last week, the company disclosed Pangilinan would hold the group’s top posts after the latter’s renewable energy development firm MGreen completed its ?15.9-billion investment in SPNEC.

SPNEC said the funds would help finance the solar project.