BELGIUM-based company UpGrade Energy has partnered with PhilCarbon, a Philippine renewable energy company, to form UpGrade Energy Philippines (UGEP).
UpGrade will offer cost-effective solar panels to industries and households, said chief country representative Edgar Hao.
Hao said they will offer a zero-investment scheme for solar roof system and solar farms for a minimum of 1,000 square meters.
UpGrade will finance the infrastructure and installation, insure the entire system including replacement of anything that is damaged as well as operate and manage the system. There will be no upfront payment.
“We will install, manage, maintain, the solar system of our commercial and industrial clients and will only be charging a per-kilowatt-consumption rate which is at least 10 percent lower than the
prevailing rate charged by electric utilities,” he said.
They will manage the system for 25 years but the companies can opt to buy it after at least five years. They also offer to individual households a one-kilowatt hour system for P150,000 investment.
Hao said a thousand square-meter roof area or solar farm area can produce at least 215 kilowatt power a day, while an individual household consumes only 200 kilowatt-hour every month based on data from the Visayan Electric Co., Inc. (VECO).
“We want to help push for more individuals and companies to start looking at generating their own solar energy. We are now talking with hospitals, outsourcing companies and commercial establishments for our services,” he said.