Cebu-based steel manufacturing firm Chioson Development Corporation (CDC) has shifted power use into renewable energy (RE), and it signed up with Energy Development Corporation (EDC), to become its electricity service provider.
According to EDC, which is a subsidiary of Lopez-led energy firm First Gen Corporation, the steel company was prompted on that move as it targets to bring down its carbon emissions – and that is in keeping with the world’s overarching goal to keep the Earth’s warming limit to 1.5 degrees C.
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Bernard B. Chioson, chief operating officer of CDC, asserted that their company is “delighted to move into the renewable energy space with First Gen and EDC.”
The contract inked by the parties will be for 750 kilowatts to be supplied by EDC from its Bacon-Manito and
Chioson added by taking that transformative step in their patronage of energy provider, “we want to have a sustainable and reliable renewable energy supplier to push our advocacy for producing rebar, nails and pipes in a clean and sustainable way.”
He emphasized that by underwriting its supply agreement with RE-based power generator, CDC finally reached a phase in which it is “moving words into action,” and with that, it has chosen geothermal energy as the source of its electricity supply.
“With this investment towards clean energy, we can leave a lasting impact for future generations,” Chioson stressed.
EDC specified that three of the facilities of the steel firm are already sourcing geothermal energy from their power generating plants, as underpinned by the Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) policy of the deregulated power sector.
The Lopez firm qualified that geothermal is considered “the holy grail among RE technologies,” and that’s because this energy resource “provides uninterrupted baseload power rain or shine,” or what EDC refers to as “Geo 24/7”.
EDC conveyed that by procuring its power from a geothermal source, CDC was able “to avoid 1.86 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in lieu of coal each year.”
And for CDC embracing that kind of transformative mindset on its energy usage, the power firm stated that such “enables construction companies to take a stand for the environment and indirectly lower their carbon footprint by getting materials from green companies like EDC.”
As a forward policy of the government, end-users within the prescribed threshold of 100 kilowatts (kW) may also opt to eventually source their power supply via the Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) that is being instituted by the Department of Energy (DOE), so installations of RE capacities in the country could accelerate within the capacity targets cast through 2030 to 2050.
“Shifting to RE through licensed GEOP providers like First Gen and EDC’s facilities is crucial to helping our country decarbonize and be a part of the solution to climate change,” the power firm said.