November 21, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Community mall pioneer WalterMart is expanding its clean energy shift, with more locations across Luzon set to run on renewable power from Lopez-led First Gen Corp.
WM Shopping Center Management Inc. (WMSCMI), the developer of the WalterMart malls, has signed another deal with First Gen, this time to deliver 47 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy to 45 retail centers.
The agreement covers W Department Store, WalterMart Supermarket and Abenson outlets across Metro Manila, as well as central and southern Luzon.
The deal also includes the Citadines Bay City Manila Hotel in Pasay and Ascott Bonifacio Global City Manila, both owned by the WalterMart Group.
The electricity supply will come from the Unified Leyte Geothermal Power Plant owned and operated by First Gen subsidiary Energy Development Corp.
“The commitment to clean power enables our malls to operate responsibly and efficiently, reducing our carbon footprint while creating a greener future for the communities we serve,” WMSCMI chairman Abraham Uypeckcuat.
This latest deal builds on the ongoing partnership between the two companies for the installation of solar facilities across WalterMart malls in Quezon, Zambales, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Bulacan and Rizal.
WalterMart first tapped First Gen in 2019 for the installation of a solar power facility on top of a mall carpark building in Nasugbu, Batangas.
“As WalterMart continues to grow and open new community spaces across the country, First Gen will be ready to power every expansion and deliver what is truly a baseload source of renewable energy,” First Gen president and COO Francis Giles Puno said.
Currently, WalterMart has 45 community malls nationwide, 25 of which are expected to be powered by solar energy before the end of the year.
This is aligned with WalterMart’s goal of sourcing 20 percent of its electricity requirements by year-end.
First Gen, one of the country’s leading renewable power developers, operates over 1,700 MW of capacity from solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy sources.