The Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) is planning to get 1,500 megawatts (MW) in renewable energy (RE) sources for its power needs in the next five years, as the power giant advances the construction of its utility-scale RE plants.
Based on a BusinessWorld report, MERALCO President and CEO Atty. Ray Espinosa said at the firm’s annual stockholders meeting on Tuesday that the plan aims to accelerate the firm’s transition to cleaner energy. It also has in the pipeline the development of up to another 1,500MW in utility-scale RE power plants in the next five to seven years.
The company will also advance its other sustainability efforts by shifting to electric vehicles to serve its business centers and upgrading its distribution transformers to run on plant-based oil. It will also further develop its race to zero waste program, which will cover its distribution network.
Two weeks ago, MERALCO PowerGen Corporation (MGen) — through RE subsidiary MGen Renewable Energy, Inc. (MGreen) — began operating its 50MW BulacanSol solar farm in San Miguel, Bulacan. MGen is the power generating arm of MERALCO, the country’s largest power distributor.
MGreen is also planning to develop six floating solar plants throughout the Laguna De Bay.