SteelAsia Manufacturing Corp., the country’s largest steel company and one of the world’s largest manufacturers of rebars, will install solar power at its Meycauayan, Bulacan facility, its latest sustainability initiative.
The agreement for the 1.9-megawatt solar rooftop project was signed by TotalEnergies of France and SteelAsia only on Tuesday.
SteelAsia president Andre Y. Sy said this is the company’s latest action to de-carbonize and protect the environment while it expands its operations. The company has six plants across the Philippines with additional plants planned in the coming years.
When operational, the solar plant will displace 2.3 million kilograms of carbon dioxide every year, thus 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. Around 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.
TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company created in 1924 in France and active in more than 130 countries.
SteelAsia’s current project is 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 100-percent imported like most others that are used in construction and infrastructure projects.
SteelAsia is on a mission 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.
