ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Business devider First Gen to supply geothermal power to Holcim manufacturing facilities

First Gen to supply geothermal power to Holcim manufacturing facilities

Published Aug 17, 2024 01:52 am

At A Glance

  • Holcim had chosen the Lopez-led firm as its energy provider in the competitive retail space because it is "a company that shares our strong commitment to sustainability and a leading provider of renewable energy in the country." 

Lopez-led First Gen Corporation will supply geothermal-generated electricity to global cement firm Holcim for the operation of its manufacturing plants in Mindanao. That green power supply draw will be a key component of the latter’s decarbonization journey.

In the power supply agreement (PSA) sealed, First Gen will provide at least 22 percent of Holcim Philippines’s power needs for its facilities in Bunawan, Davao City, and Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

First Gen-Holcim PSA.jpg
Power supply agreement for geothermal capacity procurement by global cement firm Holcim from First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corp.

 

Holcim Philippines President and Chief Executive Officer Nicolas George vouched that their power supply pact with First Gen “is a significant step towards meeting our goal to source 65% of our power needs from renewable energy by 2030 to decarbonize our business.”

He qualified that they have chosen the Lopez-led firm as their energy provider in the competitive retail space because it is “a company that shares our strong commitment to sustainability and a leading provider of renewable energy in the country.”

The parties have not revealed the volume of the electricity supply procurement as well as the corresponding tariff in the supply deal, but First Gen indicated that the geothermal capacity will be drawn from the power plant of its subsidiary Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in North Cotabato.

First Gen President and Chief Operating Officer Francis Giles B. Puno noted that the supply agreement is an enthusiastic partnership they cemented with Holcim “to grow viably while decarbonizing.”

He asserted “it’s not an easy journey to decarbonize and provide for a regenerative future. This requires collaboration not just through supplying power, but also through solutions that maximize and optimize electricity requirements and working to find a pathway towards net zero.”

First Gen, via its subsidiary EDC, is currently the biggest geothermal power producer in the country. Altogether, the Lopez firm has robust portfolio of 26 renewable energy (RE) plants that it dangles as ‘clean energy solution’ to corporates that are pursuing sustainability as well as net zero goals.

And while the country still struggles to meet growing demand for RE capacities, First Gen likewise pitches for transitional ‘low carbon solutions package’ that will combine RE with gas-generated capacity, with the latter technology not just providing flexibility match to variable renewables, but it is also a cleaner option in the fossil fossils genre.

Holcim Philippines, in particular, is a leading provider of construction materials via its four cement manufacturing plants; and that is shored up by its value-added offers on aggregates and dry mix ventures as well as technical support facilities for building solutions.

The Switzerland-headquartered cement firm is part of the Net Zero Carbon Alliance, a collaborative movement which is advancing decarbonization strategies for many woke corporations and organizations for planetary preservation’s sake. 

Related Tags

Retail Electricity Supplier First Gen Corporation Holcim Philippines geothermal power plant Energy Development Corp.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.