During his visit to the SM Mall of Asia Solar Carpark, former US Vice President Al Gore was accompanied by (left to right) Hans Sy, President of SM Prime; Sen. Loren Legarda, UN Global Champion for Climate and Disaster Resilience; Leandro Leviste, president of Solar Philippines; and Hans Sy Jr., vice president of SM Prime. SM Prime Holdings
 
MANILA, Philippines – Former US Vice President Al Gore inspected the recently finished SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Solar Carpark during his visit in the country.
 
Gore was in the country to lead a three-day workshop which educated civic leaders on climate change. He called on Filipinos to end dependence on coal and predicted that the Philippines can become one of the world’s first 100-percent solar-powered economies given its abundant natural solar resource.
 
He cited the Solar Carpark at MOA during his presentation in terms of how the Philippines is adopting clean energy. The 2.7-MW MOA Solar Carpark is nearly twice the size of the 1.5-MW SM North Edsa Solar Carpark. It is comprised of 10,426 solar panels and 40 inverters, supplying almost 20 percent of the mall’s power needs.
 
It is expected to offset over 80,000 tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent to planting over 400,000 trees, in more than 30 years.
 
Constructed and financed by Solar Philippines, the Solar Carpark is built atop the mall, providing the structure with a green roof which also shades the parking area.
 
Senator and UN Global Champion Loren Legarda, SM Prime President Hans Sy, SM Engineering Design and Development Vice President Hans Sy, Jr., and Solar Philippines President Leandro Leviste accompanied Gore during the site inspection.