Lopez company brings solar power to homes

Lopez-led First Philec Solar Solutions (FPSS) is bringing solar power generation to homes and commercial establishments with the launch of scalable solar technology kits.

In a briefing on the sidelines of the Philippine Solar Photovoltaic Summit on Thursday, FPSS project manager Derrick John Tolentino said a typical kit could displace 4-5 kilowatts (kW) of electricity a day by converting solar power into electrical energy.

Based on rough computations, this means savings of around 15 percent on monthly power bills, he said.

At this point, however, FPSS president Dan Lachica admitted that the cost of the kit was still prohibitive, especially for consumers who are connected to the grid.

“For those within the franchise area of (the Manila Electric Co.), for example, the cost may be too prohibitive, so this may be better suited for those in the mountains who have no choice but to produce their own power,” he said.

“But in three to five years, as the cost of manufacturing these solar kits goes down, we expect to get grid parity. Then it will make a lot of sense to have this, even for those connected to the grid,” he added.

FPSS’ solar technology kits are available in three types: the 1-kW grid-tied system, the 1-kW off-grid system, and the 10-kW grid-tied system that can be scaled according to customer requirements.

The 1-kW grid-tied system will sell for between P300,000 and P350,000 upon launch in the fourth quarter.—Abigail L. Ho