First Gen builds solar facility for Delimondo

MANILA, Philippines — Delimondo Food Specialties Inc., led by the family of chief presidential legal counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, has partnered with the Lopez Group’s First Gen Corp. to power its operations with solar energy.

First Gen and its sister company, Pi Energy Inc., have completed the construction of a solar facility inside the Delimondo processing plant in Tanza, Cavite.

The project, which involves the installation of 993 solar panels, is expected to generate up to 572 kilowatts of clean power to support the electricity needs of the food manufacturer, First Gen said.

This strategic partnership is aligned with Delimondo’s efforts to adopt more sustainable practices across its operations, although financial details of the deal were not immediately made available.

According to First Gen, the homegrown food brand wants to reduce the environmental impact of its operations by improving water efficiency and transitioning to low-carbon fuels.

“Aside from investing in its own renewable power supply, Delimondo has also invested in solutions such as a remote energy monitoring system and regular audits to ensure its electricity usage is optimized and efficient,” it said.

A unit of the JAKA Group, Delimondo manufactures the Delimondo corned beef brand, along with other canned processed foods such as luncheon meat and yellowfin tuna, as well as bottled products, sauces and oils.

First Gen, on the other hand, 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.

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

As the energy arm of conglomerate First Philippine Holdings Corp., First Gen aims to scale up its power capacity to 13,000 MW by 2030.