Cebu manufacturer taps Aboitiz solar to save costs

Aboitiz Power, through its joint venture Advent Upgrade Solar Inc. (AUSI), is powering up Cebu-based industrial food manufacturer Marcel FoodSciences, Inc. with a 793.6 kilowatt-peak rooftop solar system at its Sibonga facility.

Equipped with over 1,000 solar panels, the project is expected to generate nearly 1,401,450 kWh of renewable energy in its first year, enabling Marcel FoodSciences to operate more efficiently while lowering its carbon footprint.

“This partnership with AUSI enables us to operate more efficiently while upholding our core values of honesty, integrity, fairness, respect, and compliance,” Marcel FoodSciences Vice President for Operations Melvin Tan said on Tuesday.

Marcel FoodSciences, a family-owned Philippine firm with more than 50 years of experience producing and exporting seaweed and carrageenan, “puts customer satisfaction first, providing high-quality, specification-tailored carrageenan in pure or custom blends for food, petfood, and industrial applications,” Tan added.

Catherine Del-Villar Pasilaban, AdventEnergy Vice President for Retail Sales and Services, noted that their six-year retail electricity supply partnership had built trust. 

“Deepening this relationship to include rooftop solar reflects our shared belief that local resources—from seaweed harvested in Philippine waters to the solar energy overhead—hold the power to drive real economic growth, create lasting livelihoods, and move our industries toward a cleaner, more self-sufficient future,” she said.

APx, a wholly-owned subsidiary of AboitizPower through Aboitiz Renewables Inc., owns 50 percent of AUSI.