PRESIDENT Aquino and SM Prime President Hans Sy led the switch-on of the solar-powered rooftop at the multi-level carpark building of the SM North Edsa.
 
SM Prime Holdings Inc. worked closely with Solar Philippines to put up the 5,760 solar panels that could generate up to 1.5 MW power which is enough to power 1,000 households or light 150,000 10-watt light bulbs or charge 214,285 cellular phones or power 170,000 30-watt electric fans.
 
The power generated from the solar panels could offset 1,200 tons of C02 or the equivalent of planting 6,000 trees per year. The solar panels can be used to light up all the 16,000 lighting fixtures, 59 elevators and 20 elevators of the SM North Edsa. 
 
Solar Philippines is the company behind the largest commercial rooftop solar power projects in the country.
 
SM Prime has also put up the first SM mall in the world to operate using solar energy in its mall in Xiamen in mainland China. It is a 1.1 Mw project using 3,740 solar panels.
 
For this pioneering efforts in upgrading its services, SM City Xiamen was awarded the Mall China Golden Mall Awards 2014 Excellent Upgrade last April in Shanghai by the Mall China Information Center (or Mall China), the first non-profit organization in Mainland China catering to China’s retail property sector and the largest shopping center retail organization in China.
 
The need for greater sustainability and disaster-resiliency has been in the forefront of SM Prime’s development because of the many disasters that had hit the nation the past decade. 
 
For the Mall of Asia complex SM devotes around 30 percent of its budget to make the whole area disaster-resilient. As a result, it had survived 50 typhoons, four earthquakes and two floods from monsoon storms since it was built in 2006.
 
Great strides were also implemented through sustainable designs of its other malls, notably in SM Marikina, SM Masinag and SM Muntinlupa.
 
SM Prime also invests heavily in the longevity of its establishments to ensure continuous operation and safeguard the communities around them. Such efforts paid off when SM Marikina and SM Muntinlupa survived the massive rainfall brought by tropical storms Ondoy and Pepeng in 2009.
 
Not only did the malls survive the disasters; they also became a refuge for stranded people and food seekers. The malls also became repacking centers for relief goods and their multi-level parking building for private cars for free.  
  
JOINT RESOLUTION
 
President Aquino, during the launch of the solar project, said he remains hopeful that Congress would pass “sooner than later” a joint resolution that would provide him special powers to address a projected power supply shortage during the summer of 2015.
 
“Most of you may be aware of current projections: If we do not adjust accordingly, Luzon might experience a shortage of a minimum of around 300 megawatts, to a maximum of 1,000 megawatts next summer. This is not a challenge the national government can overcome alone, which is why we are all working with all sectors to address this issue,” he said.
 
The House on Sunday said it would try to approve on second reading the joint resolution. Yesterday, the House leadership urged him to certify the measure as urgent.
 
The Senate has said the measure is unlikely to be passed this year because the chamber is deliberating on the proposed national budget for next year.
 
Aquino said government is already taking several steps to address the projected shortage, like providing incentives for private companies that would join the Interruptible Load Program (ILP), like the SM group of companies which he said promised to de-load 57.9 megawatts during critical times or when supply falls short of demand.
 
Aquino lauded the SM group for leading establishments in the use of solar energy. He said SM City North EDSA is the first SM mall in the Philippines to become solar-powered.
 
Also present during the event were Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Sen. Loren Legarda, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, and Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte. – Jocelyn Montemayor and Wendell Vigilia