Community mall chain goes solar

As published on MalayaBusinessInsight

MRC Allied Inc. plans to set up solar panels in malls around the country, initiating talks with developer XRC Mall Developer Inc. for its portfolio of malls.

“The discussions are meant to explore, develop and install Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems for rooftops in various malls owned by XRC,” MRC said. XRC is a domestic corporation engaged in the establishment and operation of Xentro Malls nationwide. Xentro Malls are community malls in cities and municipalities around the Philippines, having leaders in the retail and food industry as its major tenants. The company specializes in community malls. “This partnership with XRC will be another milestone for MRC as it diversifies into the renewable energy business,” saidGladys Nalda, MRC president. “This will be a significant step toward our foray into the solar PV rooftop industry,” she added. According to Nalda, the initiative will also help MRC achieve its goal of building a renewable energy portfolio of 1,000 megawatts (MW). “It will also bring us closer to our goal of developing at least 1,000 megawatts of clean and renewable energy in five years,” Nalda said. The venture into the solar PV rooftop industry follows the company’s recent acquisition of 15 percent stake in the 50 MW Sulu Electric Power and Light Philippines Inc. (Sepalco) project in Leyte. The power plant lies on a 70-hectare property in Palo and has a total of 188 solar panels. It is connected to the existing 69-kilovolt transmission line of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in the province. The Sepalco project is on top of MRC Allied’s 100 MW solar project in Pampanga and 60 MW solar project in Cebu, both of which are in the advance stages of pre-development.