The Villa Escudero Plantations and Resort has tapped into the power of solar energy, launching a solar facility within its estate to further reduce its carbon emissions and lower daily operational expenses.
This 144-year-old estate in Tiaong, Quezon welcomed its second renewable energy facility with a switch-on event last November 7, 2024.
“We have no doubt about the technology. We’ve been operating a renewable energy power plant privately at the Escudero family since 1937, and well, bawing-bawi na kami,” Villa Escudero director Daniel Escudero told the media during the launch.
The estate is also home to the Arsenio Escudero Hydroelectric Power Plant, the country’s first hydroelectric plant, which began its first venture into renewable energy.
Moreover, Villa Escudero partnered with Cebu- based renewable energy company Vivant Energy, which used Canadian Solar for the energy management system for this solar facility.
“The facility is grid type, meaning Villa Escudero would still get power from the grid at the same time when the solar facility is producing during the daytime,” said Mark Habana, the vice president of Vivant Energy.
Habana explained that they did not apply a battery system yet because the size of the facility is about 211 kilowatt peak only. Thus, the amount produced by the facility during daytime should be consumed during those hours as well.
The facility is said to displace 166 metric tons of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to planting 8,000 trees a year.
Going green and greener
The Villa Escudero director also revealed that they have plans to get green certifications for the estate’s sustainability efforts.
“We want to emphasize that even resorts here in the Philippines, such as Villa Escudero, are trying to keep abreast and updated with the sustainability initiatives that we often see in higher end resorts in more developed, first world countries,” Escudero said.
When asked whether this initiative will eventually lower the cost of visiting the resort, the director said “hopefully” it will.
The Escudero family believes that they will be able to reduce their operational expenses and mitigate effects of inflation with what they are able to save from the power generated by the solar facility.
“…We will be able to retain an even lower price in the future as long as we have facilities such as this,” He said.
The estate began as a plantation for sugarcane, and then for coconut. It was only in 1981 when the family opened it to the public as a sustainable tourist destination for Filipinos and foreign visitors alike.
