Largest solar rooftop in Bacoor switched on
By Eireene Jairee Gomez – May 29, 2021
from The Manila Times
THE Green Heat Corp. and SM City Bacoor have formally switched on the 1.3-megawatt (MW) roof-mounted solar power plant in the mall, the largest of its kind in the city.
In a virtual launching and press briefing on Thursday, Green Heat Director Glenn Tong said that the solar rooftop system generates a monthly average of 128,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy, which is enough to power 800 homes consuming an average of 160 kWh a month.
SM City Bacoor has maximized the use of its 6,230 square meters of rooftop space with 3,114 solar panels, which can generate an average of 1.13 MW of power a day.
This translates to savings of P10.3 million in the mall’s annual electricity costs, while reducing its dependence on grid power.
“We are very excited with our partnership with SM City Bacoor as we fully support its efforts to complete the green business model,” Tong said.
The solar rooftop of the first SM mall in the province of Cavite is the largest of its kind in Bacoor City, reinforcing SM’s commitment to lead the private sector in harnessing clean and renewable energy.
“SM recognizes its impact on the environment and continuously takes measures to prioritize the efficient management of its resources, which in this case is our mall’s vast rooftop space that, aside from its use as shelter, is now a reliable source of power,” said SM Supermalls Assistant Vice President for Operations for South 1 Region Lorenzo Leon Calingasan 4th.
Meanwhile, Green Heat lso introduced new technologies in the solar rooftop of SM City Bacoor as it installed a zero export/smart photovoltaic system.
For a business with daily operations amid the ongoing pandemic, solar power is a welcome addition to environment-friendly measures that SM City Bacoor has implemented over the years.
The mall has already converted its lights to light-emitting diode lighting in 2014. It is also reusing wastewater for use in its comfort rooms.
Tong said Green Heat “guarantees providing top quality systems that will perform for many years for our partners, who in turn can expect to make significant savings while making a lasting impact on the environment.”
Green Heat accounts for over 40 percent of the solar rooftop installations in the Philippines, 85 percent of which are commercial installations.
The company has installed since 2009 a total of 14 megawatt-peak solar power rooftops that continue to provide an aggregate of 228 gigawatt hours of power.
Each rooftop provides a savings return of between 30 percent and 40 percent.
The installations have also helped reduce about 1,139 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, which can be the equivalent of planting 1,140 virtual trees.
