The National Housing Authority (NHA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Cellennium (Thailand), the sole licensee of vanadium fuel-cell manufacturers, and property developer Horseshoe Point Co.
The three partners will collaborate to build energy-saving housing projects that will use renewable power. The project is targeted at middle- and low-income earners.
Vitoon Jiasakul, NHA’s governor, said the three parties will jointly study ways to develop the project using renewable energy. The preferred choice is solar power installed on the roofs of each house.
Homeowners can use the electricity generated for free while excess output can be sold back to the grid.
The NHA plans to develop 50,000 units under this concept in Greater Bangkok from 2012-18.
The first phase will cover 25 projects with 15,000 units.
Residents will share the installation cost of 1,000 baht a month for the first eight years in order to receive free power.
Krisada Kampanatsanyakorn, the chairman of Cellennium (Thailand), said the vanadium redox-flow battery technology was created for electric storage and power generation providing unlimited capacity.
The battery can be recharged simply by replacing the electrolyte if there is no available power source to charge it.
Horseshoe Point used the technology at its project in Pattaya and lowered monthly power bills by 50 per cent, with a 100 per cent cut - meaning it will be free - expected in the future.
