Lopez-led First Gen Corporation, the country’s clean energy leader, is accelerating on its deployment of green mobility solutions across the chain of its businesses – and this time, it is pilot-testing “Greenwheels” which will be its electric vehicle (EV) project.

The EV proof-of-concept undertaking of the company, of which charging station will also be sourcing electricity from a clean energy resource, will be initially deployed for internal use of its employees at the firm’s project site in Batangas.

In a statement to the media, First Gen noted that the EV pilot-test venture will form part of the Lopez firm’s strategy on reducing carbon emissions and if the pilot test will yield favorable outcome, the company is targeting to replicate it and expand infrastructure installation at its other project sites.

According to First Gen President and COO Francis Giles B. Puno, “EVs do not spew CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other pollutants into the atmosphere, and these vehicles’ increasing popularity now expands their role in reducing emissions from the transport sector.”

He qualified that “by utilizing a solar-powered charging station, even the power used to charge the EVs becomes clean. This further optimizes and enhances the role of EVs in cutting down CO2 emissions and mitigating climate change.”

First Gen expounded that under its GreenWheels Project, it will be developing a fast EV charging station, “which can accommodate multiple EVs, inside the First Gen Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City.”

It stated that for the test vehicle, the company acquired a Nissan LEAF, which is one of the first passenger electric vehicles to hit the Philippine market.

Nissan’s rollout of EVs across different markets is in line with its “Blue Switch” initiative, a program that promotes the use of EV technologies to address social concerns.

As emphasized by Nissan Philippines President and Managing Director Atsushi Najima, this will allow the car company “to establish partnerships with various stakeholders, so we can work together to power mobility and beyond for a cleaner, safer, and more inclusive world.”

He specified “the recent launch of our Blue Switch global initiative in the Philippines proves our commitment to this goal,” with him noting that Nissan regards First Gen as a valuable partner, as the Lopez-led company takes “first steps to achieve carbon neutrality with (its) GreenWheels project.”

First Gen said the Nissan LEAF EV, “if driven for an average of 50 kilometers (kms.) a day, can avoid emission of nearly 3.0 tons of CO2 a year compared to a similar vehicle that runs on fossil fuel.” On one full charge, Nissan LEAF has likewise been calculated to have a range of up to 311 kilometers.

The company reiterated “what sets the GreenWheels Project apart is its charging station that is not only fast, but is also powered by solar energy.”

First Gen added the clean energy-underpinned fast charging station would “give an EV unit’s battery an 80-percent charge in as fast as 40 minutes or a mere fraction of the 18 hours needed by a regular home charger.”

Conversely, the Lopez energy firm conveyed that “ordinary motor vehicles running on gasoline or diesel fossil fuel emit massive amounts of CO2, which has been identified in various studies as the main culprit behind adverse climate change and all the destructive weather patterns it churns up – such as super typhoons, floods and droughts.”

It was further explained that conventional vehicles are now highly vulnerable to the drastic spikes in oil prices at the pumps which are now triggering gaping hole in the pockets of consumers; whereas for EVs, First Gen highlighted that they “do not need fuels like diesel or gasoline, running only on electricity, which helps mitigate such concerns.”