San Miguel targets 10,000 megawatt renewables expansion

The San Miguel Corporation is looking to massively grow its renewable energy assets.

The Philippines-based brewer set out its plan on the weekend with an aim to build 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity.

“SMC is going to invest heavily on renewable energy,” said company president Ramon Ang, according to the Manila Standard.

“Hydro wherever there is an opportunity, we are interested. We are looking at large hydro, maybe 1,000 MW at least per project,” he added.

In addition, the corporation is looking at wind power, tidal and battery storage projects, but not solar. Mr Ang believed that solar wasn’t reliable enough to justify the investment, bucking a global trend in favour of the technology.

San Miguel already part-owns a number of hydro plants in the Philippines, but is also invested in gas and coal plants.

A possible site for its first wind farm has reportedly been found on the country’s largest island of Luzon. While a specific area has not been revealed, it is understand to be located on land already owned by the company.

“We are challenging ourselves to be able to operate in the most environmentally responsible manner while taking into consideration energy security and affordability to the consumers. Initiatives to achieve this objective are under way and I’m proud to say we are making a good headway,” he added.

Its ambitious renewable energy target forms part of a wider move towards sustainability by the company. In 2017, San Miguel announced a new ‘Water For All’ initiative, designed to cut its overall water consumption by 50 percent by 2025. Later in the year, it discontinued its entire plastic bottled water business to reduce its environmental footprint. The water savings from this decision, however, will not count towards its new consumption target.