MANILA, Philippines – Henry Sy-led SM Prime Holdings on Monday said it built a 1.1 MW rooftop solar power project in its mall in Xiamen, Fujian Province in China.

The project, said to be the first of its kind in the city, will enable its two shopping malls — SM City Xiamen and SM Lifestyle Center — to generate power from the 3,740 solar panels installed. Its average generated electricity is estimated at 1.1 million killowat hour (KWh) per year.

“SM Prime is constantly in pursuit of the highest level of operational efficiency. In line with this, we place strong emphasis in investing in the latest innovations in sustainable and energy efficient technology,” said SM Prime president Hans Sy in a statement.

SM Prime, the Philippines’ largest shopping mall developer, invested total of $2 million or 13.2 million Renmindbi (RMB) in the project.

Aside from SM City Xiamen, SM Prime has introduced a thermal energy storage plant in SM City Jinjiang.

This ice-based cooling system fosters a large reduction in the mall’s utility and energy bills and optimizes energy efficiency.

For the rest of 2013, SM Prime is scheduled to launch SM City BF-Paranaque and will expand SM Megamall with the opening of Building D.

By the end of the year, SM Prime is expected to have 48 malls in the Philippines and five in China with an estimated combined gross floor area of 6.9 million square meters.

SM Prime currently operates 47 malls all over the Philippines with a combined gross floor area of 5.9 million square meters.