Makati buildings can save P1.7 billion in energy

The commercial buildings in Makati have been appraised with abounding potential of P1.7 billion worth (roughly $37 million) for investments on energy saving solutions.

In a presentation at the 1st Philippine Energy Efficiency Forum, Bank of the Philippine Islands senior manager Nanette A. Biason bared that they have undertaken survey of the 300 commercial buildings in Makati, and out of the 52 that responded, that has been the extent of investment opportunities assessed.

She said the survey of the buildings in the country’s prime commercial district under Makati Commercial Estates Association, was undertaken by the bank in collaboration with the Ayala Foundation and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.

“We surveyed all the buildings in Makati, apparently only 52 responded. So from that survey, the IFC commissioned technical consultant (energy efficiency consultant). They submitted data sheets and then from those data sheets, something like we did a walk-through audit from the data sheets,” Biason subsequently explained in an exclusive interview.

Along with the IFC, the bank plans to roll out P5.0 billion worth of lending portfolio for combined energy efficiency and renewable energy investments, which they also target to scale up when opportunities come in droves.

In terms of assessing risks for EE opportunities as well as the emerging RE technologies, Biason noted that they can always lean on IFC’s support on those more complicated ‘risk assessment’ tasks and strategies. “We’ve already grown comfortable because of the partnership with IFC, we have an energy consultant so he’s bringing in the expertise, especially those gained globally. So we can leverage on their (IFC) support, so we now know the risks and we have the knowledge of mitigating those risks that come with RE and EE projects,” she said.

If all the 300 buildings would have responded to the survey, she stressed that the investment opportunities for energy efficiency and savings from such establishments would have been more significant. The buildings surveyed, she noted are mostly those at the Ayala Center while the rest covered wider ranges of establishments in Makati.

Source: MB