OPERATION of the Jollibee Group’s Danao commissary has remained resilient and stable on the back of electricity sourced from 99% renewable energy (RE) in partnership with the First Gen Group. The commissary in Danao, Cebu, has been sourcing a portion of its power requirements on-site through rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels installed and operated by First Gen.
The Danao commissary is the largest production facility of the Jollibee Group in the VisayasMindanao region and serves as production hub for brands such as Jollibee, Chowking, Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon and Burger King. It is one of the first manufacturing plants in the Philippines that integrated solar power into design and construction from the ground up, with over 3,900 solar PV panels on its roof generating 2.8 megawatt-peak capacity.
Coupled with 1,000 kilowatts of geothermal energy from the Bacman geothermal power plant, the Danao commissary has been able to operate with a smaller carbon footprint and helped reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 70% and maintain electricity costs.
Mark Malabanan, vice president and head of solar and commercial business development of First Gen Energy Solutions, welcomed the utilization of solar and geothermal power at the Danao commissary.
“We are very proud of our collaboration and partnership with the Jollibee Group. The solar installation in Danao is among the fastest in the industry—with preparation work starting in September 2025 and initial energization by mid-January 2026. It was our privilege to work with the Jollibee Group on this laudable initiative to power its major VisMin manufacturing hub with 99% RE which has helped mitigate fuel supply risks and pressures,” said Malabanan.
In 2023, the Jollibee Group tapped First Gen to install 17,000 solar panels with more than nine megawatts (MW) of capacity at its commissaries and distribution sites in Parañaque and Laguna, as well as a remote energy monitoring system to optimize electricity usage at the logistics hub. Aside from solar facilities, First Gen also supplies the Jollibee
Group with a total of 11 MW of electricity for its manufacturing and logistics hubs nationwide.
First Gen Energy Solutions head of solar and commercial business development Mark Malabanan (rightmost) with
(l-r) First Gen Energy Solutions technical services head Ed del Rosario, Jollibee Group head of manufacturing for the
Philippines Nilo Siongco, CEBECO 2 GM Lowell Belcina and technical services head Dominador Binghay, and Jollibee
Group Philippines head of engineering Julius Leyba and Danao commissary head Richard Perez.
