MANILA, Philippines (Updated, 4:17 p.m.) — Real estate company Imperial Homes Corp. (IHC) announced the launch of the country's first solar net-metered community on Thursday in Trece Martires, Cavite.
Net metering allows qualified electricity consumers to produce their own power using renewable energy (RE) facilities, such as solar panel systems. The excess power will be sold to distribution utilities for credits that can be used to offset power bills.
With the solar power facilities, the whole community can save as much as P1.2 billion over 25 years by generating clean power which offsets 45,000 tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to planting 50 million trees. Through net-metering, consumers are also given the chance to help stabilize the Luzon power grid.
“As a pioneering PropTech developer, we are more driven to integrate modern and efficient technologies into property developments to promote inclusive growth in our communities,” IHC President and Chief Executive Officer Emma Imperial said during the launch on Thursday.
“The net-metering system is another proof that real estate and renewable energy and green resilient building materials are potent partners in addressing the concerns of poverty alleviation, climate change and housing backlogs,” she added.
She explained that the Energy Regulatory Commission's (ERC's) decision to amend its net metering rules, paved the way for such a project. In 2019, the ERC revised its net metering rules to allow for a simplified permitting procedure and reduced installation soft costs for RE facilities, among others.
She told reporters that the houses, which cover a 50,000 square-meter area, have all been "sold out."
The entire project is targeted to be completed by 2025, and is hoped to serve as the model for affordable, resilient and sustainable projects in the province.
Imperial added they are looking at setting up a similar net-metered project in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija in the future.
Since its inception, IHC has launched 28 real estate development projects and built over 20,000 homes. It describes itself as the country's first property technology developer since 1983.