First Gen, General Milling renew green energy pact

MANILA, Philippines — Lopez-led First Gen Corp. has renewed its renewable energy (RE) supply deal with General Milling Corp. (GMC), extending a long-standing partnership that began in 2016.

With this agreement, First Gen unit Green Core Geothermal Inc. will continue to energize GMC’s largest food manufacturing complex in Cebu with electricity from its geothermal plant in Negros Oriental.

GMC president Anna Gurango-Vicencio said RE is the “future of sustainable manufacturing,” noting that this tie-up ensures that GMC meets its energy needs while pursuing its long-term environmental goals.

“By integrating more clean energy into our operations, we are future-proofing our business while making a positive impact on the environment,” she said.

GMC, which started as a flour-milling company, has since evolved into a major player in the food manufacturing industry, offering a diverse portfolio that includes flour, feed, soybean milling and livestock breeding.

Apart from the Cebu plant, the company also operates additional sites in Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato and Laguna, with headquarters in Makati and Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

“We have seen the tangible benefits of (RE) in our operations over the past eight years,” said Vicencio, adding that sustainable power enables GMC to “scale our operations and deliver high-quality products to our customers nationwide.”

Carlo Vega, First Gen VP for power marketing, trading and economics, said this partnership will not only power GMC with clean energy but is also a crucial step toward decarbonization.

“Aside from helping GMC reduce the carbon footprint of their manufacturing operations through a steady RE supply, we are committed to partner with them in their journey toward decarbonization by helping them harness more RE and integrate this into their operations and rationalize their power usage,” he added.

First Gen is the country’s largest producer of clean energy, with a combined capacity of over 1,600 megawatts (MW) from its solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power plants.

The company’s other power generation facilities run on natural gas, the cleanest form of fossil fuel, with a total capacity of over 2,000 MW.