PMFTC Inc. is looking to expand the capacity of the solar energy system installed within its factory in Batangas province to go beyond the 2.5 megawatt (MW) launched on Tuesday, in line with plans by its foreign affiliate Philip Morris International (PMI) to reduce its carbon footprint, company officials said.
“This plant will cover 10% of the actual needs of the factory,” Carlos Sanchez, PMI’s environment manager, told reporters during the switch-on ceremony of the $3.1-million solar farm in Tanauan City, Batangas.
“This is just the first phase. We want to test how the production works with this new solar photovoltaic,” he added.
Mr. Sanchez said an expansion of the facility would be easy since the installation is ground-mounted on the company’s property within the First Philippine Industrial Park, which has enough space for more solar panels. He said the potential additional capacity would depend on the performance of the new plant.
PMFTC is the third affiliate of PMI in Asia to have its own solar power plant, after Pakistan and Indonesia. PMFTC is the joint-venture company between Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing, Inc. and Fortune Tobacco Corp.
“PMI is in the middle of a transformation. So basically we’re building these days the future on smoke-free products that are a better alternative than conventional cigarettes,” Mr. Sanchez said.
He said PMI has a “central governance for renewable investment” that analyzes which among the 46 factories it has in the world presents the best opportunity to reduce the company’s impact on the environment.
The project in the Philippines was selected as the best one, apart from a biomass project in Mexico, he said. A solar project similar in size to the Tanauan solar farm will be built in Italy next year, he added.
Scott Coutts, PMI vice-president for global manufacturing, said the project would turn the group into one that uses lesser fossil energy and more renewable power.
“It’s a very big challenge even for a big company because sustainability of environmental projects are not really obvious from a financial point of view,” he told reporters.
He added that PMI had made a commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and invest in an environmental project with a return on investment of up to 10 years, or longer than the usual four to five years.
Joao Brigido, PMFTC operations director, said the project is aimed to achieve PMI’s target of at least 40% reduction in its carbon footprint across its whole value chain by 2030.
“With the Batangas factory now partially powered by solar energy, the initiative is expected to reduce more than 2,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually,” he said.
PMFTC’s solar farm was built in partnership with MSpectrum, the renewable energy solutions subsidiary of distribution utility Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).
Oscar S. Reyes, Meralco president and chief executive officer, in his speech during the launch said PMFTC’s “impressive” project is the largest “own-use” solar facility within the utility’s franchise area.
“We draw inspiration from PMFTC for its commitment to do what is right for our environment and to reduce the carbon footprint of its whole supply chain,” he said.
PMFTC’s Batangas factory was inaugurated in 2003 as PMI expanded its investments in the Philippines to include the renovation and rehabilitation of a manufacturing facility in Marikina, the establishment of a PMI regional leaf warehouse in Subic, and the construction of a leaf facility and buying station in Claveria, Misamis Oriental.
PMI, a leading international tobacco company, has a workforce of around 81,000 people. It manufactures six of the world’s top 15 brands, spanning more than 180 markets.
The Batangas solar project is the largest for PMI, more than doubling the group’s current solar power production. — Victor V. Saulon
