FIRST Gen Corp. on Monday said it has signed an agreement with Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC) for the supply of renewable energy to the latter’s malls and supermarkets across the country.
First Gen said it would use geothermal energy to power Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Robinsons Fuente Cebu, Robinsons Antique, Robinsons Roxas, Robinsons North Tacloban, and Robinsons Pagadian; RL Commercial REIT’s Robinsons Ormoc and Robinsons Tacloban; and Robinsons Supermarket Corp.’s Shopwise in San Nicolas, Cebu City.
The agreement calls for over 22 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy supply for the eight shopping malls and a supermarket in five provinces.
The clean power would be sourced from First Gen’s Unified Leyte geothermal facilities for the Visayas shopping malls and from the Mt. Apo geothermal plant in North Cotabato for the Mindanao mall.
RLC President and CEO Mybelle Aragon-GoBio said that with the deal, the company “will be able to power our shopping malls with renewable geothermal energy even as our power needs peak.”
“This also helps reduce our exposure to electricity price volatility driven by global fuel markets, which is particularly important amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties,” she added.
RLC owns and operates 57 shopping malls across the Philippines and its diversified portfolio includes office buildings, residential developments, hotels, industrial and logistics facilities, and destination estates. It noted that about 10 to 15 percent of its total power needs come from renewables, including rooftop solar facilities with 30 MW of combined capacity.
“We are pleased to rekindle our partnership with Robinsons Land Corporation ... We look forward to supporting them as they continue to grow their portfolio with sustainability at the core of their expansion,” First Gen President and COO Giles Puno said.
First Gen shares on Monday slipped by P0.38 to P17.64 apiece and those of RLC ended down P0.40 to close at 16.84 apiece.
