First Gen test-drives integrated EV project

FIRST Gen Corp. has launched on Wednesday its electric vehicle (EV) initiative called GreenWheels, a project that the company said will bring it closer to carbon neutrality.

“EVs do not spew CO2 (carbon dioxide) and other pollutants into the atmosphere, and these vehicles’ increasing popularity now expands their role in reducing emissions from the transport sector. By utilizing a solar-powered charging station, even the power used to charge the EVs becomes clean. This further optimizes and enhances the role of EVs in cutting down CO2 emissions and mitigating climate change,” First Gen President Francis Giles B. Puno said in a media release.

The project will be used inside the company’s Clean Energy Complex in Batangas City, supporting its push for reduced carbon emissions.

First Gen said under the GreenWheels project, it developed a fast EV charging station, which can accommodate multiple EVs, inside the complex.

“For the test vehicle, First Gen has acquired a Nissan LEAF, one of the first passenger EVs to hit the Philippine market,” it said.

After the pilot testing, the electric vehicle unit was calculated to be able to reduce 3 tons of carbon emissions after a 50-kilometer drive a day. A car that runs on fossil fuel can emit the same amount of carbon emission in a year.

The same calculations showed the acquired car can run up to 311 kilometers in one full charge.

Mr. Puno said the transport sector is a “crucial” factor in mitigating climate change.

“As part, therefore, of our mission to forge collaborative pathways for a decarbonized and regenerative future, we are pilot-testing the GreenWheels Project to understand its potential in reducing our carbon footprint and evaluate the feasibility later of developing it,” he said.

On Monday, First Gen reported that it ended last year with “flat earnings” of P12.4 billion attributable to equity holders due to more expensive fuel prices offsetting higher electricity sales as power demand recovered to pre-pandemic levels.

First Gen shares at the local bourse went up 30 centavos or 1.24% to close at P24.55 apiece on Wednesday. — Marielle C. Lucenio