Gokongwei mall has world’s biggest solar power plant
The world’s largest solar power plant installed on the rooftop of a shopping mall was switched on Monday by Gokongwei-led property developer Robinsons Land Corp. at its sprawling shopping hub in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The 2.88-megawatt solar plant atop Robinsons Starmills was inaugurated Monday, breaking existing records on such a renewable energy generator installed for the self-consumption of a shopping mall. The facility is seen to offset up to 95 percent of the mall’s daytime demand and even sell excess electricity to the grid in the early mornings when the mall is not yet open.
“The sprawling design of Robinsons Starmills and the wide open surrounding space make it ideal for a large-scale solar power facility,” RLC president Frederick Go said.
With its large footprint and big daytime electricity requirements, the roofdeck of shopping malls presents good opportunities to harness the power of the sun for power generation. In the case of RLC, it is investing in rooftop solar plants in many of its shopping malls, paring around 25 percent of monthly electricity bills while contributing to climate change mitigation.
For Robinsons Starmills, the system is expected to generate almost four million kilowatt-hours of energy during its first full year of operation and cut carbon emissions equivalent to 2.25 million kilograms. This is comparable to planting 100,000 trees or removing 5.5 million miles worth of vehicular carbon emissions.
“As a responsible corporate citizen, Robinsons Land is continuously looking for ways to adopt sustainable practices and minimize its carbon footprint by steadily shifting to the use of renewable energy,” he said.
Robinsons Starmills thus set a new global milestone for having the biggest solar plant on its rooftop, beating SM City North, which earlier held the record with its 1.5-MW installation, which was inaugurated in 2014.
The mall is a popular destination in San Fernando because of its outlet concept, which brings popular brands under one roof for shoppers looking for great deals. It is also popular for tourists because its Fiesta Kapampangan food court allows visitors to sample the best culinary specialties of the province.
The mall also houses an inter-regional bus terminal, making it a meeting point for various destinations in NCR, Central and Northern Luzon especially during two of the province’s well known festivals, Sinukwan and Giant Lantern Festival, which attract both local and foreign visitors.
Go said RLC’s thrust to install solar power facilities in all of its malls “demonstrates the company’s commitment to help protect the environment from the adverse effects of carbon emissions.”
Solar energy is not only sustainable, but is renewable as well. In addition, continual advancements in solar panel technology are increasing the efficiency and lowering the cost of production, making solar plants even more cost effective.
