State-run Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will reinforce its initiative for solar rooftop installations at the buildings of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Region IV-A areas.

The planned deployment of solar photovoltaics (PVs) in the NEDA facilities was cemented through a memorandum of agreement (MOA) inked last August 27 by PNOC Chief Executive Officer Oliver B. Butalid with NEDA Assistant Secretary Agnes E. Tolentino; and witnessed by NEDA Assistant Regional Director Carmel P. Matabang.

According to PNOC, the utilization of renewable energy (RE) for NEDA’s Region IV-A assets will be part of the "Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic for Government Buildings Project" or the so-called “RGB Project” which targets to transform the energy usage of state-run assets with clean energy technologies.

For the PNOC-NEDA deal, it was not specified yet how many buildings will be equipped with solar rooftops and how much capital outlay would be funneled into the projects.

The Region IV-A  domain would cover Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces, or what is dubbed as the “Calabarzon” stretch in southern Luzon.

Within the Marcos administration, PNOC has taken upon itself to take the function of shifting the energy use of government buildings as well as state colleges and universities (SCUs) to solar – and that is not just anchored on having potential cost savings as core strategy toward energy efficiency goals, but for these state-run facilities to lead the country’s pathway to decarbonization.

“By harnessing the power of solar PV systems, the project not only aims to reduce electricity bills but also aligns with the Philippine government’s drive for renewable energy adoption and climate change mitigation,” PNOC noted.

Butalid primarily emphasized that the key role for PNOC “is to support the energy transition agenda of the Department of Energy, particularly promoting energy efficiency among government entities.”

He reiterated that “rooftop solar PV systems in government-owned buildings is one of the services PNOC will be providing aside from demand aggregation (retail electricity supply) and smart air condition technology.”

Being the country’s lead agency on socioeconomic planning, NEDA indicated that it so far identified energy efficiency “as a key component in enhancing government operations.”

Tolentino, for her part, has raised hopes that their initial tie-up with PNOC will serve as a catalyst for “more partnerships not only in NEDA but to the whole of CALABARZON as well.”

This early, NEDA-Region IV is already anticipating potential benefits that they could reap from cost savings out of their electricity bills by efficiently managing their energy usage upon the installation of their solar rooftops.

To recall, all government agencies are mandated under Administrative Order No. 15 to pare their energy usage by 10% - and that will cover both their electricity consumption as well as vehicle fleets.