The Philippines’ leading integrated telco network PLDT Inc. (PLDT) and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) are expanding their partnership with the country’s largest renewable energy (RE) producer, First Gen Corporation (First Gen) to switch six (6) network facilities in Mindanao to 100% RE.
Among the facilities that are shifting to RE is PLDT Ponciano, a critical regional facility in Mindanao that also houses VITRO Davao — the first data center in Davao City which caters to the business needs of local and foreign enterprises in the region in terms of disaster recovery, security, and business continuity. This switch will also make VITRO Davao the first data center of the telco firm to be powered 100% by RE.
“Following the switch of four (4) of our sites in the Visayas, we are once again tapping First Gen’s geothermal energy supply to increase the renewable component of the energy mix of our critical facilities in Mindanao. This enables us to future-proof our facilities, reduce our operational expenses, and support the government’s Green Energy Option Program in the region,” said PLDT Vice President and Sector Head for Property and Facilities Leo Gonzales.
This RE expansion in Mindanao is expected to generate approximately ₱23 million savings on energy and operational costs annually for PLDT and Smart. It is also estimated to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by almost 13,000 tons every year, contributing to their decarbonization roadmap that targets a 40% reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions by 2030, coming from a 2019 baseline.
“First Gen and PLDT share a common commitment towards decarbonization. We are honored to collaborate with the PLDT group, support their transition to RE, and help make their facilities more energy efficient and sustainable while providing meaningful connectivity to Filipinos,” said Carlo Vega, First Gen Vice President for Power Marketing, Trading and Economics.
The PLDT Group is set to expand more renewables into its energy mix, which includes geothermal, solar and wind sources. In May 2023, PLDT and Smart launched their RE supply partnership with First Gen to harness geothermal energy sources for network facilities in Cebu, Samar, Capiz, and Iloilo. Prior to partnering with First Gen, the PLDT Group has also installed its largest solar rooftop facility in the Visayas, covering sites in Cebu Jones and Mandaue City in Cebu, Roxas, La Paz, Iloilo, and Bacolod. Within 2024, the Group expects to transition additional facilities in Greater Metro Manila to RE.
“The achievement of PLDT and Smart’s decarbonization targets to reduce our environmental footprint depends on the support from like-minded partners such as First Gen, who helps companies transition to renewable energy. This partnership with First Gen allows us to continue to enable the country’s digital transformation and help narrow the digital divide but in a way that is kind to the planet,” said PLDT First Vice President, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Head of Investor Relations Melissa V. Vergel de Dios.
In addition to the transition to RE, PLDT and Smart have been venturing into the adoption of green technologies and various resource optimization initiatives for their network sites, business offices, and key facilities nationwide. PLDT has also secured green loans, amounting to ₱5 billion to-date, to partially fund its fiber expansion and minimize the carbon footprint of its network rollout.
For its part, First Gen is the largest producer of RE in the country with 26 facilities generating power through solar, hydro, wind and geothermal. In 2023, First Gen produced over 8,000 gigawatt hours of RE, primarily from geothermal output.
First Gen, a unit under Lopez-owned First Philippine Holdings Corporation, is investing over USD2 billion to ramp-up generating capacity. The company aims to expand its total RE capacity to 7,500 megawatts by 2030, to support the Philippine government’s target to raise RE capacity from the current 22% to 35% by 2030.
These efforts aim to support the global ambition to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 on Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, SDG 7 on Affordable and Clean Energy, and SDG 13 on Climate Action.
