Meat firm taps solar energy

NORTH Star Meat Merchants Inc., one of the biggest fresh frozen food retailers in the country, has signed a deal with WEnergy Power Pilipinas Inc., a partner company of Singapore-based WEnergy Global Pte Ltd., to provide solar photovoltaic (PV) energy infrastructure for their cold storage facility complex in Bulacan.

The project adds a sustainable solution to the overall business operations of North Star, one that aligns with their vision to reduce the carbon footprint and costs of its supply chain of endto-end fresh frozen meat across the Philippines.

“Our strategic collaboration with WEnergy Global allows us to continue providing the public with affordable products while still ensuring the highest quality available,” said Anthony Ng, NorthStar chief executive officer. “We believe that this partnership will allow us to enhance our robust logistics backbone in order to strengthen our end-to-end service capabilities. Working with WEnergy Global’s international specialists goes beyond solar panels.”

WEnergy Power Pilipinas will supply a solar PV rooftop system for North Star’s main cold storage warehouse and meat cutting plant strategically located in Tabang, Bulacan. With this new development, North Star expects over 1-million kilowatt-hour annual solar capacity that allows a 15-percent reduction in their monthly power expenses and a 23-percent reduction in carbon footprint.

In 2021, North Star was able to increase its storage capacity from 2 million kilos to 4.8 million kilos. With this storage capacity expected to increase to 6.4 million kilos in 2022, energy consumption is also expected to increase.

“More than providing our customers with high-quality products at an affordable price, we want to ensure that we are able to support the communities within our value chain — from supporting the growth of our local producers to maintaining the confidence of our retail partners,” said Ng. “The savings and environmental benefits gained from our partnership with WEnergy Global allows us to shift the focus on other pressing matters as we plan to expand the business to greater heights.”

WEnergy Global and its partner in the Philippines, WEnergy Power Pilipinas, is a leading international energy firm providing clean energy solutions to businesses, building owners and commercial and industrial estates to reduce cost for power consumption and increase the proportion of clean energy in their mix. The company develops, designs, builds, owns, finances and operates renewable energy power infrastructure, which includes power generation, energy storage and transmission and distribution of various systems.