Minibea Mitsumi, a Japanese mechanical and electronics multinational manufacturing company, will build a P500-million 12.8-gigawatt hours per year (Gwh/year) solar power plant in its Cebu factory in Danao City to achieve net-zero carbon emission.
In an online press briefing on Thursday, Oct. 19, Minibea Mitsumi President Tatsuya Mori said the project will be the largest solar power generation among all the Japanese factories currently operating in the Philippines. It will sit in an area that covers 6.8 hectares.
The project, to be completed in one year, is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6,833 tons per year.
Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo emphasized that this project will position the Philippines as a smart and sustainable manufacturing and services hub by utilizing market-based tools to empower the private sector.
In terms of savings, eight percent of the total power consumption – which averages close to P1 billion per year – will be allotted to renewable energy (RE) operations.
With plans to expand its manufacturing capacity, Mori said that the group will come up with the same RE units in their other two facilities, as they are currently doing a study on how much investments are required to make it possible.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo also underscored the importance of having a policy that can be utilized to meet the current brand owner's demand for net zero-carbon emission facilities from whole supply chains.
The BOI Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2023-006, signed last Monday, Oct. 16, provides specific guidelines to register energy efficiency (EE) projects under the R.A. No. 11285 of the 2022 Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP).
Under the MC, an EE project that is registered on the SIPP is entitled to an income tax holiday (ITH) incentive provided under E.O. No. 226, based on the revenue of the existing project. While self-financed EEPs can only receive the ITH incentive and duty exemption on the importation of capital equipment, raw materials, spare parts, or accessories.
Meanwhile, Rodolfo noted that Minibea Mitsumi is "one of the most important investors in the Philippines" for employing 18,500 workers in Danao alone.
The Japanese company also owns a factory in Batangas with 1,000 workers, and in Bataan with 3,000 workers – making it one of the biggest employers in terms of export manufacturing in the Philippines.
Further, Rodolfo emphasized how the company treats its employees in terms of training, which is of great importance for the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Minibea Mitsumi Philippines Group Executive Officer Caesar Augusto said that the company has also contributed in the field of academia for several years in which it has already trained and produced 1,100 graduates under the industrial robotics program.
The Japanese company has been collaborating with three universities in Cebu for years including the University of San Carlos, Cebu Institute of Technology (CIT) University, and the University of San Jose - Recoletos – where they plan to put up robotics laboratories.
Augusto said that the company’s automation process requires a lot of skills from engineering graduates, whom they trained for a long period.
Apart from robotics laboratories, they are also investing in moulding technology and AI laboratories.