MANILA, Philippines – Ateneo de Manila University has committed to a fully renewable energy future following a supply agreement that it signed with Shell Energy Philippines and SolX Technologies on Thursday, May 23.

This is a huge step that solidifies Ateneo’s institutional commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, attain the status of a Laudato Si’ University, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

“Utilizing renewable energy resources to power our university is one concrete way we are operationalizing our plan to become a Laudato Si’ University,” said Ateneo president Fr. Roberto Yap SJ.

Ateneo’s main campus, Loyola Heights, will effectively switch on Sunday, May 26.

Yap explained during the Thursday agreement signing that 20% of their electricity will come from the campus’ solar panels which they began installing in 2020. The rest will come from Shell Energy.

At least 13 buildings in Loyola Heights have solar panels.

Sarah Rose Lim, chief commercial officer of Shell Energy, said that the electricity they will supply to the Loyola Heights campus will come from solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal sources.

Under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act’s Retail Competition and Open Access (RCOA), end-users like Ateneo can choose the electricity suppliers they will get power from.

An existing end-user is considered eligible for RCOA if it has an average peak demand of at least 500 kilowatts or an average billing of P950,000.

A similar initiative where an end-user can choose a supplier to source renewable energy was created under the Renewable Energy Act.

“This contract basically allows us to tell Meralco that the power supply to this campus should not come from coal, should not come from LNG (liquified natural gas),” Yap said during the signing.

“It should come now from renewable sources. That’s the basic thing.”

Helping in the energy transition is SolX, a platform that helps end-users like Ateneo determine the contract that would work for their electricity requirements. This helps establishments and businesses save energy costs.

The startup received P11 million funding from the National Development Company in 2023. SolX is led by Ateneo alumni, created in the university’s start-up incubation program.

Shell Energy Philippines, formerly known as Manta Energy Incorporated, is a retail electricity supplier under the Shell group. – Rappler.com