PLDT launches biggest solar facility in the Visayas

One of the country's largest telco players PLDT Inc. and its wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. are making another milestone with the launch of their biggest solar rooftop facility in the Visayas.

New solar panels!

The company's largest solar facility in the Visayas

In a statement, PLDT said the solar panels are located in its biggest business facility located along Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City.

The facility

Henrey Donguines, PLDT property and facilities management executive and project manager of the Solar Rooftop Project, said that the newly-installed solar panels can generate approximately 214,553-kilowatt hours of solar power annually.  In effect, this will reduce PLDT's carbon footprint by 152 tons of carbon dioxide each year, which is equivalent to planting around 15,680 trees or 313,600 trees over 20 years. 

The company noted that this is already the third PLDT facility partly powered by solar energy, which will soon be followed by two more Visayas offices this month. 

The project aims to cut PLDT's carbon emissions by mixing renewable resources in its energy mix, which also reduces energy costs. 

We continue to look for opportunities to install solar rooftop panels in more PLDT and Smart facilities in order to enjoy the same benefits from the current deployments. Under the environmental pillar of our ESG initiatives, focus areas include energy efficiency, the use of green network technologies, and renewables. By doing so, PLDT and Smart are also doing their part to help the government achieve its target of reaching net zero by 2050, said Melissa Vergel De Dios, PLDT and Smart chief sustainability officer and head of investor relations.

Helping PLDT achieve its targets is Spectrum, a subsidiary of the Manila Electric Company. It has been helping in installing solar panels. 

As a solar company of Meralco, Spectrum is committed to providing safe and reliable solar solutions that will empower our customers to operate sustainably. We are committed to collaborating with companies like PLDT who share our vision to further both our sustainability agendas, Spectrum Chief Operating Officer Patrick Panlilio said. 

DENR 7 Assistant Regional Director Charlie Fabre commended PLDT's efforts and hopes this will be reflected in other companies.

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