SM North Edsa is world's biggest solar-powered shopping mall
MANILA - Barely two months after launching the country’s largest own-use solar plant, the Philippines' top solar provider marked another milestone by energizing SM North Edsa, now the world’s largest solar-powered shopping mall.
Leandro Leviste, Solar Philippines Commercial Rooftop Projects Inc president, said the company, in partnership with SM Malls, will launch its first solar power facility at the company's North Edsa mall on November 24.
Solar Philippines installed 5,760 solar panels and 60 inverters covering over 12,000 square meters at the mall's North Edsa parking building.
The 1.5-megawatt plant will be able to augment the mall’s power requirements, or the equivalent of 2,000 Filipino homes. It is expected to operate for over 25 years and offset an estimated 40,000 tons of carbond dioxide (CO2), or the equivalent of planting 200,000 trees.
Leviste said the scale of the project makes it competitive with conventional power facilities.
"Solar has gained the reputation of being expensive, not because of the technology, but because previous efforts were too small to benefit from economies of scale. By building the country’s largest projects, we’ve become the first local company to make solar cost-competitive with fossil fuel," he said, without disclosing figures.
Besides the SM North Edsa solar farm, Solar Philippines will also put up similar facilities in other SM Malls.
Last September, Solar Philippines installed a 700-kilowatt solar power facility in Central Mall Biñan of Premiumlink Development Corp.
source: interaksyon.com
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