The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Clean energy firm First Gen Corp. has entered into an agreement with Japanese multinational Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd. to supply 100-percent renewable energy to its facilities in the Philippines.
In a statement issued last week, First Gen said it will provide electricity from its geothermal plant in Negros Oriental to power four Sanyo Denki Philippines factories operating within the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales.
Sanyo Denki Philippines president and CEO Hirokazu Takeuchi said the initiative is in line with the company’s global goal to transition all production sites to renewable energy sources.
“We are pleased to start our partnership with First Gen, which we believe is the best way to achieve our goal of using more renewable energy in our production, especially in light of our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. We also believe it is our obligation to provide our customers with products that are produced using renewable energy,” he said.
To support this shift, Pi Energy Inc.—First Gen’s sister company—will assist Sanyo Denki in improving energy efficiency and optimizing power consumption across its facilities.
“Shifting a 24/7 operation to RE and rationalizing power consumption are challenges for manufacturing firms. It is our privilege to help enable and advise them on taking the next steps towards a more sustainable future for their operations,” First Gen chief engagement officer Carlo Vega said.
“We look forward to continuing the journey with Sanyo Denki Philippines and continuing to integrate more RE and energy efficiency solutions into their facilities.”
Sanyo Denki has been operating in the country since 2000 and manufactures products such as uninterruptible power supplies, photovoltaic inverters, servo motors and amplifiers, and cooling fans. Its Philippine operations also serve as a key hub for producing DC cooling fans.
First Gen currently operates 28 renewable energy plants across the country, generating a total of 1,651 megawatts from geothermal, solar, wind, and hydro sources.