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A greener future: San Miguel Corporation invests more in renewable energy

To focus more on sustainable efforts on its portfolio, San Miguel Corporation (SMC), at the helm of Ramon S. Ang, vows to drop its clean-coal power projects and shift its endeavors to adding more renewables. Through this change, SMC aims to utilize technologies that will significantly cut its carbon footprint while continuously addressing the country’s need for reliable and affordable power.

“SMC has always maintained a diverse power portfolio utilizing renewables and traditional, but proven technologies. This is to ensure that as we transition to cleaner sources, we will not undermine our commitment to meet the growing demand for affordable and reliable energy,” SMC president Ramon S. Ang says.

Earlier, the company dropped plans to put up three new clean-coal power plants with a capacity of 1,500 MW in favor of new facilities that utilize cleaner, renewable energy sources.

A sneak peek of SMC’s renewable energy efforts
/Photo from Ramon S. Ang’s Facebook page

 

“We’re executing on our plans to move away from building new coal facilities, despite new technologies that make them cleaner. It’s a company direction that is in line with all the major sustainability initiatives we have undertaken these past couple of years,” Ang adds. 

The company has already started its transition to cleaner energy with its ongoing construction of 31 Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities all over the country.  

“For several years now, we have been articulating our plans to move into cleaner and renewable power. We would like to report to the public that now, these plans have not only taken shape, but we have started implementing them,” the president adds.

The BESS facilities will have a total capacity of 1,000 MW and are set for completion in 2022. According to Ang, they represent SMC’s full-scale solution to fix power quality issues in the Grid.  

“Apart from making sure to invest in key infrastructure projects that will support our economic recovery from the pandemic, we have also made sure that we stay true to our larger sustainability goals by continuing to integrate sustainability into our strategic plans,” Ang shares proudly. 

In 2017, SMC discontinued its plastic bottled water business, effectively removing some 32 million plastic bottles a year, which would have ended up in landfills or bodies of water. That same year, SMC also committed to reducing the total water consumption across the entire San Miguel group of companies by half.

“All these efforts, including our ongoing initiatives to clean up our rivers, are geared towards helping ensure that our post-pandemic recovery is better, greener, and sustainable,” Ang concludes. 

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