By Danessa O. Rivera (The
Philippine Star) | Updated December 17, 2015 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The
1.5-megawatt (MW) solar rooftop project in one of the shopping malls of the
Sy-led SM Prime Holdings Inc. has started contributing power to the Luzon grid
to boost the supply in the island.
In the recent Philippine Electricity
Market Update, the solar-powered facility at SM City North EDSA has been listed
under the new generation capacities for the Luzon grid contributing an
additional 1.5 MW capacity to the power supply.
The solar plant, owned and operated
by Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects Inc., is covered by a
renewable energy service contract issued by the Department of Energy (DOE) to
the same company.
It is also included under the
feed-in-tariff (FIT) system, which entitles power developers to receive a set
of incentives for a period of time to build renewable energy (RE) projects.
DOE Assistant Secretary and
Renewable Energy Management Bureau director Mario Marasigan said the inclusion
of the solar power plant in SM North EDSA in the electricity market means the
power it generates contributes to the stabilization of the power supply in
Luzon areas.
“Unlike other solar rooftop projects
which are dedicated for self-use of the building, Solar Philippines’ (SM Prime
Holdings Inc.) solar power plant is the only commercial rooftop solar project
within the heart of the Metro Manila that is connected to the Luzon grid, thus,
contributing additional capacity to the power supply within Luzon areas,” he
said.
Inaugurated in November 2014, the SM
North EDSA solar power installation is the largest solar-powered rooftop in a
commercial establishment in Southeast Asia.
It is composed of 5,760 solar
panels. It produces enough power to energize 1,000 households or 150,000
10-watt light bulbs or charge 214,285 cellular phones, which could offset 1,200
tons of C02 or the equivalent of planting 6,000 trees per year.
“It is part of SM Prime’s continuing
commitment towards making its operations sustainable and environment friendly
as the world prepares for the effects of climate change,” SM Prime president
Hans Sy said.
Apart from SM North EDSA, the
developer has also installed solar panels in its other malls here and in China.
The first SM mall to operate with
solar energy is in Xiamen, China, which generates 1.1 MW from 3,740 solar
panels. For this pioneering effort, it was awarded the Mall China Golden Mall
Awards 2014 Excellent Upgrade last April in Shanghai.
SM City Jinjiang, also located in
China, has 4,012 solar panels which targets to generate 1.2 MW per year.
SM Prime and Solar Philippines have
also agreed to put up similar projects in other SM malls, which include SM
Dasmariñas and at the Mall of Asia.
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