CITY of Dreams Manila launched on Monday a 1.2-megawatt (MW) solar energy system at the topmost level of the luxury integrated casino-resort’s parking building, and plans to add a similar-sized installation within its property this year.
Kevin Benning, City of Dreams Manila senior vice-president and chief operating officer, described the installation as having three phases, including more solar panels on top of the Hyatt Regency tower and the pool deck.
“That was the first start, the 3,200 [solar] panels,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the facility’s formal launch.
He said the investment for the first stage was at P76 million, for a guaranteed generation capacity of almost 2,000 MW a year.
In a press release issued during the event, City of Dreams Manila placed the generation capacity to be equivalent to the average annual electricity consumption of more than 7,000 typical households.
It said the renewable energy generated would reduce the carbon emissions of the resort by more than 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, which it said to be equal to more than 270 passenger cars, “or the amount of CO2 emissions sequestered from 1,500 acres (600 hectares) of trees each year.”
The project is in line with the overall sustainability plan of Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd., developer and owner of casino gaming and entertainment resort facilities in Asia and Europe, including City of Dreams Manila through its subsidiary Melco Resorts and Entertainment (Philippines) Corp.
“The next phase that we’re looking at is the rest of the hotel towers as well as different open spaces that we’ve identified that get a heavy amount of sunlight throughout the day,” Mr. Benning said.
City of Dreams Manila features three luxury hotel brands: Nüwa Manila, Nobu and Hyatt Regency. It houses more than 20 restaurants and bars, and entertainment venues, including: the family entertainment center DreamPlay, the world’s first DreamWorks-themed interactive play space and The Garage, which also has food park.
Paul L. Whatnell, director of building engineering and sustainability at GHD Group Pty Ltd., said in an interview he was doing six different projects with City of Dreams Manila, “all sustainability-based here in this building.”
“We have stage two solar. We’ve just done a feasibility study for stage two, which is almost as big as this [first stage],” he said. “1.1 MW is the next stage. We cover every available space.”
He described GHD’s role as “the original consultant” to do the feasibility study for the solar rooftop system.
“We wrote the specifications for the project, organized the tender, we wrote the contract, and then worked with City of Dreams to engage Spectrum (MSpectrum Inc.) via Meralco (Manila Electric Co.),” he said.
Mr. Benning said the expansion, which will bring the total capacity to 2.3 MW, was awaiting approval.
“We’re still reviewing all of the capital investment and the numbers,” he said. “Timeline-wise, considering this took six to eight months, if we sign off on it (stage two solar) this year, it will be done this year.”
Victor S. Genuino, Spectrum president and chief executive officer, said the energy that can be produced by the first installation “is equivalent to 923,820 kilograms of carbon footprint reduction.”
He said the Meralco subsidiary was created even if it means reducing the consumption registered by the distribution utility because “customers demanded it.”
“Our customers are evolving. They are becoming more conscious of their impact to diminishing resources — and they want to do something about it,” said Mr. Genuino, who is also Meralco first vice-president and head of customer retail services and corporate communications. — Victor V. Saulon
