Meralco to Invest in 1,000MW Green Energy Projects
Manila, Philippines (June 5, 2019) – Manila Electric Co. (MERALCO) today announced a significant expansion of its plans to invest in renewable energy projects in the coming years.
“As we celebrate the World Environment Day, we announce that we are developing 1,000 MW of renewable energy projects in the next 5-7 years, joining the inexorable shift to renewable energy and the adoption of sustainable practices in everything we do,” recently appointed President and CEO Atty. Ray C. Espinosa said.
“MERALCO is committed to developing large-scale renewable energy projects that can deliver competitive electricity for our customers, without any requirement for subsidy or support, while keeping environmental stewardship and sustainability as top priorities in our business,” Atty. Espinosa added.
As part of this plan, MGEN Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen) has been established to serve as the platform for the strategic push to develop renewable energy projects, primarily solar, wind and run-of-river hydro. The new company aims to bring in additional supply to support the Philippines’ growth momentum and help ensure availability of green and cost-competitive power supply in the coming years.
MGreen is a wholly owned subsidiary of MERALCO PowerGen Corporation (MGen), which in turn is the power generation arm of MERALCO.
“We are working on several renewable energy prospects and we recognize the significant reduction in the development cost, particularly for large-scale solar and wind over the past years. Notwithstanding the ongoing requirement for new reliable baseload generation to support the fast-growing Philippine economy, we believe that the time is right to focus on building our green energy capacity and we intend to be a key player in this expanding sector,” MGen President and CEO Rogelio L. Singson said.
“MGen, through MGreen, will continue working on the realization of our project opportunities, and will work in partnership with established developers to maximize our growth potential,” he added.
The official further said that the plan is aligned with MGen’s growth aspirations, which are focused on advancing renewable energy prospects and utilization of high efficiency, low emission (HELE) technology for baseload power plants.
“We will continue to work with the energy industry, government and other stakeholders to serve the country’s energy needs while ever mindful of our greater responsibility to society and the planet,” Mr. Singson concluded.