West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) recently energized another solar power farm inside La Mesa Compound in Quezon City to generate more renewable energy for operating its water facilities.
The new one-megawatt PV (photovoltaic) solar farm, which covers a land area of 12,157.30 square meter, was built to augment the power requirements of La Mesa Treatment Plant 1 and several pumping stations within the La Mesa Compound—facilities that operate 24/7 to treat and distribute water for Maynilad’s 8.8 million customers.
It is the company’s second solar farm. The first one—a 1-megawatt PV installation that began producing energy last year—marked Maynilad’s initial foray into renewables, which it is pursuing in line with its environmental sustainability and operational efficiency initiatives.
“We are serious about managing the environmental impact of our operations, which will continue to expand as we build more facilities over the next few years. The use of renewables is one of our strategies for minimizing greenhouse gas emissions, along with carbon sequestration through the reforestation of watersheds,” said Maynilad President and CEO Ramoncito S. Fernandez.
The second solar farm is expected to reduce the electricity consumption of Maynilad’s La Mesa facilities by around 90,000 (kWh) kilowatt per hour, as well as minimize carbon emissions by 21 tons per month. It is also projected to generate annual cost savings of around ₱7 million to ₱10 million from purchased electricity.
Maynilad is the largest private water concessionaire in the Philippines in terms of customer base. Its service area includes the cities of Manila (all but portions of San Andres and Sta. Ana), Quezon City (west of San Juan River, West Avenue, EDSA, Congressional, Mindanao Avenue, the northern part starting from the Districts of Holy Spirit and Batasan Hills), Makati (west of South Super Highway), Caloocan, Pasay, Parañaque, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Valenzuela, Navotas, and Malabon, all in Metro Manila; and the cities of Cavite, Bacoor, and Imus, and the towns of Kawit, Noveleta, and Rosario, all in the province of Cavite.
