MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III led the official launch of the country’s largest solar rooftop installation in the Philippines.

The installation is composed of 5,760 solar panels above 11,511 square meters of the roof desk of SM City North EDSA’s multi-level parking building. It has a generating capacity of 1.5 megawatts.

The system is expected to power 5% of the mall’s daily energy consumption through its average daily output of 179,793 average kilowatt.

It is also expected to save the mall P2 million ($44,493)* a month.

On Monday, November 24, Aquino “switched on” the green power switch along with Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla.

Aquino praised the work of SM and its initiative to use renewable energy sources, a direction that the Philippines is taking.

“In the long term, our goal remains the same: to ensure a reliable, preferably clean and reasonably-priced, power supply. We are on our way toward achieving that goal. From 2014 to 2018, an additional 5,098 megawatts are expected to come online nationwide, while government continues to encourage investments into power,” he said.

He acknowledged the challenges of using renewable energy, like its inability to provide baseload power, and the expense of setting it up “which naturally translates to increased electricity prices.” But Aquino said its advantages are many.

Aquino said the Philippines aims to “diversify” its energy sources “and strike the right balance between renewable and traditional sources of energy.”

He also encouraged businesses to look into using renewable energy sources, in the same way SM plans to install similar systems to its other malls.

“Indeed: whether initiated by government or by businesses like SM, these kinds of projects drive home the point that renewable energy can be a competitive choice for power,” he said.

“The use of renewable energy sources represents a long-term investment. It plays to our country’s strengths, provides insulation from fluctuations in the international oil market and thus allows us to be more self-sufficient, generates savings in terms of electricity costs, and also contributes to the preservation of the environment and mitigates the effects of climate change.” – Rappler.com

*$1=P44.95