REAL-ESTATE developer Imperial Homes Corp. (IHC) is launching a solar-powered mass housing project consisting of 1,000 units in Santo Tomas, Batangas.
IHC has partnered with Belgium-based Enfinity Group to develop Via Verde, the first solar-powered subdivision situated on a 3-hectare property with a combination of row houses and two-bedroom townhouses.
A 500-watt solar panel will be installed on every unit for free to allow buyers to enjoy lower electricity rate through the lease-back program of Enfinity, a company that finances, builds, owns, operates and maintains solar power. It has operations in the US, Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific.
“Equipped with 500 watts of solar solutions, these solar-powered homes will drastically reduce the cost of electricity and provide a greener environment for our low-cost housing projects,” said Emma Imperial, IHC Chairman.
Imperial said the project aims to alleviate the country’s backlog on mass housing currently pegged at 3 million, as well as help provide a greener solution against the worsening effects of climate change.
“Our share in the joint-venture partnership with Enfinity is the land itself, where the 1,000 homes will be put up. That is valued at P600 million,” she said. Enfinity will install the solar panels, valued aty $1 million, on all the 1,000 units.
The Via Verde project will be formally launched on January 14 next year.
Solar energy is ideal for communities because it is clean, renewable and sustainable. “It does not pollute our air. By not using any fuel, solar energy does not contribute to the cost and problems of the recovery and transportation of fuel,” said Imperial.
Via Verde’s contribution to the global renewable-energy efforts will translate to $1.4 billion in fossil-fuel consumption and 941,000 tons of carbon-emission elimination annually.
IHC’s project is anchored on the Transformational Business Model presented by Imperial during the World Bank Housing Conference in May 2014 in Washington DC and the International Finance Corp.’s Climate Business Forum in Hong Kong last October 29.
“We are also expecting to receive World Bank’s Certificate for Green Building any time soon,” she said.
Lenie Lectura