SET-listed Sena Development, a Thai property developer, is planning rapid expansion of its rooftop solar solution business as the company taps into growing interest in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria.
ESG is a set of standards adopted by investors who want to support businesses that care for the environment and people as well as promote good corporate governance.
Sena anticipates its rooftop solar panel business growing after power bills become more expensive and banks support the granting of loans to buyers of solar panels.
Kessara Thanyalakpark, chief executive of Sena, said the increase in the price of electricity since May has caused more homeowners to consider installing rooftop solar panels, which also promotes the use of renewable energy. The installation cost has also gradually decreased and now stands at 100,000 baht per solar module with a capacity of two kilowatts.
Payment conditions for people who need to borrow money from the bank is also attractive, said Mrs Kessara.
The interest rates have tended to decrease, with payback periods likely to become shorter. The payback periods were previously for around 8-9 years.
According to the company, the minimum loan rate (MLR) for house buyers stands at minus 2%, compared with minus 2.5% for houses with solar panels.
These factors encouraged Sena to expand its rooftop solar panel business, which is run by its wholly-owned clean power subsidiary Sena Solar Energy Co.
Houses in residential areas as well as private and state-owned office buildings are Sena's target customers.
Sena first ventured into rooftop solar panel installation for housing developing projects in 2015. It has already installed solar panels, with combined electricity generation capacity of 2,000KW, under 47 low-rise and high-rise residential projects.
The firm also joined a sandbox scheme launched by the Energy Regulatory Commission which invites state and private firms to test new energy technologies to see whether they can serve a peer-to-peer power trade platform that facilitates power trade among electricity users.
According to Sena, 10 houses with rooftop solar panels participated in the scheme.
These homes jointly use one energy storage system, which allows them to use electricity from a battery at night.
"They use only a single energy storage system because the battery is costly," said Mrs Kessara.