Robinsons Land Corporation (RLC), a leading Philippine property developer, has forged a partnership with the First Gen Group (First Gen) for the supply of geothermal electricity that will power its key shopping malls in the Visayas and Mindanao, as well as those of its subsidiary RL Commercial REIT (RCR) and affiliate Robinsons Supermarket Corporation (RSC).
Covered by the agreement are RLC’s shopping malls Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Robinsons Fuente Cebu, Robinsons Antique, Robinsons Roxas, Robinsons North Tacloban, and Robinsons Pagadian; RCR’s Robinsons Ormoc and Robinsons Tacloban; and RSC’s Shopwise in San Nicolas, Cebu City.
The initiative supports the Gokongwei Group’s aim to optimize costs and decarbonize operations as part of its broader sustainability agenda.
This agreement, which was signed last March 13 by representatives of First Gen and RLC, calls for over 22 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy supply for the eight shopping malls and a supermarket in five provinces.
First Gen will source the power from its Unified Leyte geothermal facilities for these shopping malls in the Visayas; and from the Mt. Apo geothermal plant in North Cotabato, for RLC’s Mindanao mall.
“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. 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. This also helps reduce our exposure to electricity price volatility driven by global fuel markets, which is particularly important amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainties,” said Mybelle V. Aragon-GoBio, president and CEO of RLC.
RLC owns and operates 57 shopping malls across the Philippines and maintains a diversified real estate portfolio that includes office buildings, residential developments, hotels, industrial and logistics facilities, and destination estates.
About 10 to 15 percent of RLC’s total power needs are supplied by renewables, including rooftop solar facilities with 30 MW of combined capacity. These solar rooftops supply more than 40 percent of the needs of RLC’s shopping malls. Its Robinsons Starmills Pampanga hosts one of the largest rooftop solar installations on a commercial building globally.
“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. Geothermal energy is not just renewable, it’s also indigenous and the only clean energy source that can run baseload capacity. It offers not just electricity cost optimization, but also price predictability. We look forward to supporting RLC as they continue to grow their portfolio with sustainability at the core of their expansion,” said First Gen President Giles Puno.
First Gen, the leading RE producer in the Philippines, has 1,700 MW of generating capacity from 30 hydro, geothermal, solar and wind facilities nationwide. In partnership with Prime Infrastructure Capital, First Gen also owns a minority stake in four gas-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 2,017 MW. These gas facilities support baseload requirements and help offset the intermittency of renewable sources, thereby contributing to a more stable and secure power supply.
