Meralco switches on solar rooftop at City of Dreams

MANILA, Philippines — City of Dreams Manila and Spectrum, a subsidiary of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), have unveiled a 1.2-megawatt (MW) solar rooftop facility on top of the integrated casino resort in Parañaque City.

City of Dreams Manila senior vice president and chief operating officer Kevin Benning said the project, whch is expected to become the country’s first to harness solar energy,  is in line with the group’s overall sustainability strategy.

 “Utilizing clean and renewable energy is only one of our numerous green initiatives and we hope that as we set the bar for sustainable operations, we also inspire positive change as we all take part in the growing movement towards a more sustainable future,” Benning said.

The solar facility has made City of Dreams Manila as the first integrated resort casino in the country to undertake this kind of project, Department of Energy (DOE) undersecretary Jesus Posadas said.

Global professional services company (GHD) is also taking part in the development of the project, which has an estimated cost of P76 million.

Benning said the resort developer signed the contract with Spectrum last year and has completed the project in eight months.

Meanwhile, Spectrum president and Meralco first vice president and head of customer retail services and corporate communications Victor Genuino said City of Dreams Manila has joined the global movement of creating a sustainable future.

“Meralco shares City of Dreams’ commitment to a sustainable future, and we are pleased that through our renewable subsidiary, Spectrum, we will be collaborating to safeguard our environment, reduce carbon footprint and make energy efficiency an integral part of their operations,” he said.

Benning said the facility—consisting 3,120 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels—could power up a fifth of the requirements of the luxury hotels within the integrated resort, namely Nüwa Manila, Nobu Hotel and Hyatt Regency Manila.

“Right now, the current setup is 20 percent of our total consumption for the hotels,” Benning said.

The 1.2-MW solar facility has a guaranteed generation capacity of almost 2,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year.

The renewable energy generated will reduce the carbon emissions of the integrated resort by over 1,000 tons of CO2 per year, which is equal to more than 270 passenger cars, or the amount of CO2 emissions sequestered from 600 hectares of trees each year.