Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC) has partnered with the First Gen Group to supply over 22 megawatts (MW) of geothermal power to several of their malls located across the Visayas and Mindanao region.

The agreement, signed on March 13, covers 8 shopping malls and 1 supermarket operated by RLC, RL Commercial REIT (RCR), and Robinsons Supermarket Corporation (RSC).

The following locations are covered by the partnership agreement: Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Robinsons Fuente Cebu, Robinsons Antique, Robinsons Roxas, Robinsons North Tacloban, and Robinsons Pagadian, as well as Robinsons Ormoc and Robinsons Tacloban under RCR, and Shopwise in San Nicolas, Cebu City under RSC.

First Gen will source the electricity from its Unified Leyte geothermal facilities for the malls located in Visayas. Meanwhile, the mall in Mindanao will source its power from the Mt. Apo geothermal plant in North Cotabato.

RLC said the partnership supports the Gokongwei Group’s sustainability agenda while also moving toward their Net Zero goal by 2050. It also helps them manage electricity costs and shield themselves from price volatility in the market.

“Consistent with the Net Zero goal of the Gokongwei Group by 2050, we at Robinsons Land are committed to keeping our carbon footprint as low as possible and ensuring sustainability through strong environmental performance and energy efficiency,” said Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio, president and CEO of RLC. “Through this partnership with First Gen, RLC will be able to power its shopping malls with renewable geothermal energy even as our power needs peak.”

RLC currently owns 57 malls across the country and maintains a diversified real estate portfolio of office buildings, residential developments, hotels, industrial and logistics facilities, and destination estates.

The company also said that about 10% to 15% of its power requirements are already supplied by renewable energy, partly thanks to rooftop solar installations with a combined capacity of 30 MW.

These solar rooftops supply more than 40% of the electricity demand of RLC shopping malls, with Robinsons Starmills Pampanga hosting one of the largest rooftop solar installations on a commercial building globally.

First Gen President Francis Giles Puno said the partnership highlights the role of geothermal power in supporting renewable energy adoption among large commercial establishments.

“We are pleased to rekindle our partnership with Robinsons Land and help them achieve their goal of increasing the share of renewable energy in their total power consumption,” Puno said. “Geothermal energy is not just renewable, it’s also indigenous and the only clean energy source that can run baseload capacity.”

First Gen currently has 1,700 MW of generating capacity from 30 renewable energy facilities across the country, including hydro, geothermal, solar, and wind plants.

In partnership with Prime Infrastructure Capital, the company also holds a minority stake in four gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW, which help support baseload requirements and balance the intermittency of renewable sources.

How could partnerships like this influence the use of renewable energy among commercial establishments in the Philippines?

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