First Gen Corp agrees to supply geothermal energy to Holcim Philippines' plants

First Gen Corp, a Philippines-based renewable energy company, has been chosen by Holcim Philippines to supply electricity from a geothermal energy source to power Holcim’s Mindanao manufacturing plants. 

As part of the agreement, First Ten will provide Holcim with electricity from Energy Development Corp’s geothermal plant in North Calabato to fulfil 22 per cent of the power requirements of the cement manufacturers units in Bunawan, Davao City and Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

 Holcim has stated that this agreement is part of its move towards decarbonisation.

The partnership between First Ten and Holcim was facilitated by the recent introduction in Mindanao of the government’s Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA) programme. 

Nicolas George, Holcim Philippines president and CEO, said, “This partnership is a significant step towards meeting our goal to source 65 per cent of our power needs from renewable energy by 2030 to decarbonize our business. We are excited and confident to work with First Gen, a company that shares our strong commitment to sustainability and a leading provider of renewable energy in the country.” 

Holcim Philippines is one of the country’s biggest construction materials providers with four cement manufacturing units, aggregates and dry mix businesses in addition to facilities for building solutions.

Since 2018, Holcim Philippines has reduced its carbon footprint by more than 20 per cent by manufacturing more blended cements, replacing coal with qualified wastes as alternative fuels and raw materials, switching to renewable energy and improving operational efficiency. 

Meanwhile, First Gen, as an energy company, has a combined capacity of 3668.2MW with a portfolio of natural gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind and solar power technologies.

The company also aims to raise its total capacity to 13,000MW over the next six years and spend up to US$20bn until 2030.