A 1.5MW system in the Philippines on the SM North Edsa in Quezon City is now the largest solar power system installed on a shopping mall in the world.

Philippines President Benigno S. Aquino III turned the system on in a ceremony at the beginning of this week at the mall’s multi-level car park. The system consists of 5 760 solar panels and will offset around 1200 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. It cost around P$100 – P$120 million (AU$3 million) to complete. It is also the largest commercial solar power system in the Philippines.

The solar system was installed by Solar Philippines which was founded by Leandro L. Leviste last year. The company has around 70 staff and 4MW’s worth of solar under its belt already. Interestingly, Leandro is only 21 years of age.

SM North Edsa is owned by SM Prime Holdings who have many malls, housings, offices, hotels and more. SM Prime has said that this is part of a bigger operation to achieve sustainability in its operations.

Anna Maria S. Garcia, president of Shopping Center Management Corp. (SM Supermalls – part of the SM Group) said that, “With a capacity of 1.5 MW, all 16,000 lighting fixtures, 59 escalators and 20 elevators of the mall can be powered up.” The project could also save the mall P$20 million in electricity.

“The use of renewable energy sources represents a long-term investment,” said President Benigno S. C. Aquino III in his speech. “It plays to our country’s strengths, provides insulation from fluctuations in the international oil market and thus allows us to be more self-sufficient, generates savings in terms of electricity costs, and also contributes to the preservation of the environment and mitigates the effects of climate change.”

“In the long term, our goal remains the same: to ensure a reliable, preferably clean and reasonably priced, power supply. We are on our way towards achieving that goal.”

 

 

 

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