A unit of First Gen Corp. will supply renewable energy (RE) to Silliman University (SU) for a total of 7 megawatts (MW) in three years.
Under the three-year contract, SU will be supplied with 2.1MW in the first year, 2.3MW in the second year, and 2.5MW in the last year. The RE will be sourced from the Nasulo geothermal facility in Valencia, Negros Oriental of Energy Development Corp. (EDC).
The first year of the retail electricity contract commenced last October 26 and will end on October 25, 2024.
EDC has over 1,480MW total installed capacity that accounts for 20 percent of the country’s total installed RE capacity. Its 1,181MW geothermal portfolio accounts for 62 percent of the country’s total installed geothermal capacity and has put the Philippines on the map as the third largest geothermal producer in the world.
The university has chosen to stay with First Gen for its full load requirement not only because the power that it provides through EDC is clean, renewable, and reliable but also because it is cheaper, based on its experience when it first shifted to the RE provider’s geothermal power or Geo 24/7 four years ago. Part of SU’s power supply also comes from its own solar power panels.
“More than the savings generated by our switch to renewable energy, what is more compelling is our contribution to a ‘decarbonized and regenerative future.’ To concretize this, with just a year’s use of renewable energy from 2020-2021, we were able to prevent an equivalent of 974.5 tons of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere,” said Jane Annette L. Belarmino, SU’s Vice President for Development,Enterprise, and External Affairs.
The only university in Negros Island and one of the few in the country to be 100 percent powered by RE, SU is known for its strong preference for renewable energy as part of its sustainable development programs.
SU President Betty Cernol McCann said renewing its partnership with First Gen is a testament to the institution’s commitment since 2018 to “finalizing its environmental Principles, Policies, and Guidelines which highlight the university’s commitment to a green and sustainable campus. One of the identified ways for the university to demonstrate its sustainable operations is through the use of renewable energy to reduce its carbon footprint.”
Silliman University is a pioneer partner of EDC-initiated Net Zero Carbon Alliance (NZCA), an initiative that brings together Philippine institutions and businesses to work towards carbon neutrality and create a positive impact on the environment. It is also a partner of the EDC-initiated 10 million trees in 10 years for a Greener Negros Movement (10Min10) that aims to plant, grow, and nurture at least 10 million trees to bring back the forests in Negros Island.
