Cemex Philippines has tapped Filinvest-ENGIE Renewable Energy Enterprise Inc. (FREE) to develop a 10.08-megawatt (MW) ground-mounted solar system in its Apo cement plant in Naga, Cebu.
Cemex Philippines President Luis Franco said the solar power facility is expected to avoid over 10,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. “We are proud to partner with FREE, a company that shares our vision to address climate change through sustainable projects.
This solar energy partnership is another milestone under Cemex’s Future in Action program, as we progress closer to our goal of reducing scope 2 emissions, coming from electricity sources that supply us, to less than 24kg of CO2 per ton of cementitious product by 2030,” said Franco.
Cemex and ENGIE are taking their partnership further with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore the implementation of various renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for Cemex’s facilities.
“FREE and Cemex are poised to set new benchmarks in clean energy integration, signaling a transformative alliance that reflects a collective dedication to environmental stewardship and forward-thinking business practices. Filinvest and ENGIE, leveraging our combined expertise, are pleased to play an integral role in helping Cemex climb the sustainability mountain,” said FDC Utilities Inc. (FDCUI) President Juan Eugenio Roxas.
FREE is a joint venture company of FDCUI, the power utility arm of diversified conglomerate Filinvest Development Corp. and ENGIE Services Philippines, the local division of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services.
The Apo Cement 10.08 MW solar project, one of the biggest solar projects in Cebu Province, is the first collaboration between the companies and is part of Cemex’s global Future in Action program, under which the company focuses on developing lower-carbon products, solutions, and processes to become a net-zero CO₂ company by 2050.
Once completed in 2024, this solar facility will add to the carbon-free electricity sources that Cemex has been utilizing in its operations, and it will be the biggest user of solar energy among cement plants in the Philippines to date.
