(Left to right) Meralco executive vice president Ronnie Aperocho, VinEnergo general director Nguyen Anh Khoa and PowerGen chief executive officer Emmanuel Rubio pose after signing a memorandum of understanding to explore renewable energy projects, including a facility that could deliver up to 5 gigawatts of baseload-equivalent capacity, as well as the development of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. (Photo courtesy of Meralco)
Aiming to roll out more renewable energy (RE) projects in the Philippines, the
Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with unit Meralco PowerGen Corporation (MGEN) and the Vietnam-based VinEnergo Energy Joint Stock Company to explore the deployment of renewable energy-based solutions capable of delivering approximately 25 gigawatts of electricity energy and storage capacity.
In a statement, MGEN president and chief-executive-officer Emmanue Rubio enthused that “through the memorandum, initiatives will be made to assess how large-scale renewable energy, storage and related infrastructure can contribute to the country’s evolving energy requirements.”
Corollary to this, Meralco with MGEN and VinEnergo will be looking into opportunities related to electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure as well as approaches that could support the adoption of EVs in the Philippines.
VinEnergo general director Nguyen Anh Khoa expressed enthusiasm in the agreement, stressing that “(his company) is pleased to partner with Meralco and MGEN to explore innovative solutions in building renewable energy solutions that can support the Philippines’ growing energy needs and sustainability goals.”
“This partnership reflects our shared commitment to advancing clean energy and strengthening long-term energy security,” Mr. Nguyen enthused.
“We also look forward to exploring broader opportunities for collaboration between Meralco, MGEN, VinEnergo and the Vingroup ecosystem to create lasting value for the communities we serve,” he added.
For his part, Meralco executive vice president and chief-operating-officer Ronnie Aperocho explained that the MoU will serve as a framework for discussions and the exploration of potential opportunities even as future projects or investments will still need to be evaluated separately and be subject to separate agreements, regulatory requirements and the results of assessments.
“With this partnership . . . we will leverage on our respective capabilities and expertise to pursue opportunities that create transformative value, build a more resilient energy sector, help achieve the country’s long-term energy security goals and contribute meaningfully to nation-building,” Aperocho pointed out.