Filinvest Embraces Solar Energy

Filinvest-ENGIE Renewable Energy Enterprise, Inc. (FREE), a joint venture company of FDC Utilities, Inc., the power utility arm of Filinvest Development Corp (FDC), and ENGIE Services Philippines, has bared the commercial operation of its first project, a 2.8 MWp solar rooftop solution at Filinvest Land Inc.'s Festival Mall in Alabang.

Photo Insert: An aerial view of Festival Mall in Alabang

In 2020, FREE had signed a 20-year solar power purchase agreement in Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) and had since completed the installation of 5,303 photovoltaic solar panels on the rooftops of Festival Mall.

The intelligent solar rooftop system will supply about 28 percent of the mall's peak demand and save close to 41,000 tons of CO2, an equivalent to removing approximately 9,000 cars off the roads of Metro Manila.

Festival Mall likewise benefits from the project's build, own, operate and transfer model because it requires no upfront capital expenditure. FREE invests solely and recovers the cost through an electricity tariff paid by Festival Mall over the course of the contract.

For the Filinvest Group, the sustainability feature provides a compelling financial reason to complement one's energy sources with renewable solar solutions, given the newest technology and reduced cost of solar power.

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