Solar powered rooftop Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – SM City North Edsa mall’s solar-powered rooftop has been included as one of the new power sources for the Luzon grid.

The solar-powered rooftop – the largest in a commercial establishment in Southeast Asia – is composed of 5,760 solar panels and produces enough power to energize 1,000 households or 150,000 10-watt light bulbs or charge 214,285 cellular phones.

The power generated from the solar panels could offset 1,200 tons of carbon dioxide (C02) or the equivalent of planting 6,000 trees per year.

Mario Marasigan, assistant secretary and director, Renewable Energy Management Bureau of the Department of Energy (DOE), said the inclusion of the SM solar power plant in the electricity market means that the power it generates contributes to the stabilization of the power supply in Luzon areas.

President Benigno Aquino III led the official launch of the country’s largest solar rooftop installation in the Philippines in November 2014. (READ: Aquino, SM ‘switch on’ largest solar rooftop in the PH)

Feed-in-tariff

The solar plant is owned and operated by Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects, Incorporated (SPCRPI), led by its president, Leandro Legarda Leviste. It is covered by a renewable energy service contract issued by the DOE.

Marasigan said the power plant is included under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) system, a scheme that involves the obligations on the part of a electric power industry participant to source electricity from renewable energy generation at a guaranteed fixed price, applicable to a given period of time.