SM Supermalls and solar power provider Green Heat announced the completion of the 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar rooftop system of the SM City Bacoor, the 11th solar-powered SM mall since 2013.
Green Heat, the renewable energy unit of ship maker Propmech Corp, said it has successfully installed and switched on 3,114 solar panels on 6,230 square meters of rooftop space of the mall which can generate a monthly average of 128,000-kilowatt hours of electricity. Producing a daily average of 1.13 MW of power, the solar rooftop system can save the SM City Bacoor an estimated P10.3 million in electricity cost each year, Green Heat said in a statement.
The mall will also help reduce carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 8,493 metric tons (MT) in its first year.
Opened in 1997 with a gross floor area of 120,202 square meters, SM City Bacoor was the first SM mall in Luzon outside of Metro Manila and the first of 6 SM malls to operate in the province of Cavite.
As SM malls continue to hold regular operations during the pandemic, solar power is a welcome addition to its sustainability effort to use clean and affordable energy.
“We are eager to work with companies that want to make a lasting impact on the environment by turning to sustainable energy sources,” Green Heat Director Glenn Tong said.
Since 2009, Green Heat has installed a total of 14 megawatt-peak solar power rooftops that continue to provide an aggregate of 228-gigawatt hours.
Each rooftop provides a savings return of between 30 percent and 40 percent.
These installations have helped reduce about 1,139 MT of carbon dioxide emissions, which can be the equivalent of planting 1,140 virtual trees. “We guarantee that our partners get top-quality systems that will perform for many years as our history of successful projects with prominent establishments speaks for itself,” Tong added.