SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp., the country’s largest steel company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of rebars, tapped TotalEnergies of France to install solar power at its Meycauayan, Bulacan facility.
The steel company and TotalEnergies signed an agreement for the 1.9-megawatt solar rooftop project on Tuesday.
SteelAsia president Andre Sy said the company’s latest action to de-carbonize and protect the environment is a sound corporate decision.
The solar plant will displace 2.3 million kilograms of carbon dioxide a year, contributing to the country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement to keep global warming at a maximum of 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels.
SteelAsia uses the latest and greenest steel manufacturing technologies at its plants in Davao and Cebu. About 80 percent of their energy requirements come from geothermal power.
It also invested in automated furnaces that reduce emissions and ensure optimum burning, saving fuel by up to 30 percent compared to other furnaces.
SteelAsia aims to build the country’s first sections mill in Lemery, Batangas to produce H-beams for infrastructure and large angles for transmission and cell towers.
These steel products are currently 100-percent imported, like most others used in construction and infrastructure projects.
SteelAsia said it aims to build a full-fledged steel industry that will replace imports, generate jobs and create new business opportunities upstream and downstream all over the country.
It has six plants all over the country with additional facilities planned in the coming years.
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company created in 1924 in France with presence in more than 130 countries.