Banco Popular Dominicano commemorated the tenth anniversary of its photovoltaic office network project, self-sufficient in terms of energy supply, which today extends to 56 branches nationwide, representing 31% of its office network.
This generation system based on solar energy is made up of more than 12,300 solar panels, located on the roofs of buildings and parking lots, which annually produce 5,200 mWh (average Mega Watts hour), providing the institution with savings in energy consumption of one 62% and the reduction of emissions of 3,337 tons of Co2 per year, which are not discharged into the atmosphere.
In this way, Banco Popular is so far the institution in the country with the largest installed capacity in solar panels, with about 3.5 mWh of annual production.
The initiative
The network of solar offices is an initiative of the Engineering and Maintenance Area of the financial institution and is part of the bank’s sustainable vision. This development, together with other environmental projects, such as reforestation and recycling programs, allow Popular to offset its emissions and be internationally certified as a carbon neutral company.
In addition, the importance of the project is such that it has been selected by the United Nations for its contributions to reducing the country’s carbon footprint.
The branch located in the town of Juan Dolio, San Pedro de Macorís province, was the first to integrate this network of solar offices a decade ago. The project has been growing in number of offices and in scope, since its development has involved the creation of a complete energy management and efficiency center, located in the Popular Tower, which monitors the production of the panels, which operate in the bidirectional, which means that the bank consumes part of its clean energy production and injects into the interconnected electrical system what it does not consume, in addition to also measuring the efficiency of its electromechanical equipment, auditing the electricity bill and emissions into the atmosphere in real time.
“Thanks to our value for innovation, at Banco Popular we were pioneers in planning and executing this far-reaching commitment, in favor of clean energy, eco-efficiency and the planet,” said engineer José Hernández Caamaño, vice president of Banco Popular. Engineering and Maintenance Area.
The BPD has strengthened efficiency measures
El Popular has been strengthening eco-efficient measures through the implementation of a modern electrical automation and monitoring system, which allows remote control of all its air conditioning equipment, intelligent temperature control, air quality measurement, lighting control LED, monitor your power plants and fuel consumption with more than 154 measurement points.
