By Lenie Lectura
SOLAR solutions provider Propmech Corp. has shelled out P6 million for solar-rooftop modules installed within the Procurement Service-Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PS-PhilGEPS) of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the first government agency to harness solar power.
During Thursday’s ceremonial switch-on of the PS-PhilGEPS’s solar panels, officials stressed the savings on electricity consumption.
Propmech Director Glenn Tong said some 571 solar panels were installed. He said, “We were really looking forward to this project. We’ve spent P6 million for 571 solar panels.”
The newly installed 51.3-kilowatt peak (kWp) solar rooftop, a grid-tied photovoltaic (PV) power plant, has a 51.3-kilowatt peak direct current capacity and a 40-kilowatt alternating current net capacity.
Its average monthly solar production of 4,645 kilowatt-hours (kWh) will save the agency as much as P51,210 every month at P11.24/kWh. Using the system over a year has the equivalent of planting 280 trees.
PS-PhilGEPS Executive Director Jose Tomas Syquia said the installation of solar-rooftop panels is in support of Republic Act 9729, or the Climate Change Act of 2009.
“This is a very opportune mark of distinction to be tagged as the first government office to have solar rooftop modules, especially that we have had many calamities and disasters, most of which are results of our failure to protect the environment,” Syquia said.
Propmech Corp. has completed several milestone renewable-energy (RE) projects in the country, including projects under the rural electrification program of the Philippine government; installation of solar rooftops of Asian Development Bank, Manuel L. Quezon University and Saint Scholastica’s College; and the installation of Manila Electric Company’s own solar power plant.
Image credits: Roy Domingo