When the fishing boats head out at dawn on the lakes near the towns of Macabebe, Sagay, and Silay in the Philippines, they will soon glide beneath something unexpected: nearly 700,000 solar panels floating above the water. A new partnership between Vietnamese solar developer VinEnergo and Filipino company SunAsia Energy is building the world's largest floating solar portfolio at a massive 422 megawatts — enough clean electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
The project marks VinEnergo's first entry into the Filipino market, and it's a big one. The 422 megawatts of capacity are spread across three locations: 181 megawatts in Macabebe, 126 megawatts in Sagay, and 115 megawatts in Silay. Together, these floating solar farms will generate clean electricity without taking up any land.
What makes this project especially clever is what happens underneath the panels. The solar modules sit on pile-supported structures that float above the water, leaving the space below open for fishing and aquaculture — the farming of fish and shellfish. That means local fishing communities can keep earning their livelihoods while the sun above them generates clean power for the grid.
"Through the Floating Solar model, we are not only developing renewable energy infrastructure but also creating a framework where food production and clean energy generation can thrive together," said Tetchi Capellan, CEO of SunAsia Energy.
The scale of the project is staggering. Beyond the panels themselves, workers will build 62 kilometers of new transmission lines to carry the electricity from these floating farms to homes and businesses across the region. It represents a major investment in the Philippines' clean energy future.
The idea of floating solar is not brand new to the Philippines. About a year ago, the country opened its first floating solar plant with a modest 4.99 megawatts of capacity. That small project proved the concept worked, and now the country is jumping straight to the world's biggest floating solar installation.
Experts have found that floating solar panels can actually be more efficient than land-based ones. Water helps keep the panels cool, which makes them work better. The panels also reduce evaporation from the lakes below, which is especially valuable in places where water is precious.
As climate change pushes countries to find cleaner ways to generate electricity, this project shows how innovation can protect both the planet and the people who depend on it. By combining solar power with fishing, the Philippines is charting a path where clean energy and traditional ways of life support — rather than replace — each other.