This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE federal government’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will kick in $60 million to support cheaper finance for solar PV, home batteries and other household energy efficiency upgrades via discounts on green loans from fintech lender Plenti.
The investment is its first via the $1 billion Household Energy Upgrades Fund (HEUF), a program aimed at helping consumers access cheaper home energy solutions and affordable finance.
Discounts on Plenti green loans of up to 2.74% annually will be available.
In addition, eligible customers can get a further 0.6% discount on the green loan if they sign up to a “virtual power plant” through Plenti’s point-of-sale platform, GreenConnect, taking the eligible total discount available up to 3.3% annually.
On a loan balance of $25,000, eligible customers could save up to $3,531 in interest over seven years, compared with the Plenti standard green loan rate.
Consumers will be able to apply to Plenti for a green loan financed via the HEUF from 5th June.
The federal government has allocated $1 billion to the CEFC to create the HEUF and fast-track sustainability improvements in existing housing by providing discounted consumer finance through a broad range of co-financiers. The CEFC said that during a three-month request for proposal process for HEUF capital, it received proposals for investment opportunities worth more than $850 million in green loans from 16 financiers, including major banks, mutual banks, non-banks and fintech innovators.
The proposals covered green mortgages, green personal loans and other green finance products to improve home energy performance for homeowners, renters and strata properties.
“We are confident the market enthusiasm to meet growing consumer demand for green loans will result in competitive financing products that give people more control over their energy use,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.
Australia’s existing 11 million homes are responsible for more than 10% of total emissions and more than 25% of electricity consumption, with major household emissions created by inefficient energy systems such as heating, cooling and hot water.
Modelling from RACE estimates that a bespoke home retrofit addressing needs identified through a whole-of-home assessment could reduce an average home energy bill by up to $1,600 per year. It also found that a scheme targeting improvement of just one million existing Australian homes could reduce home energy use by up to 9,000 kilowatt-hours per year, per home, and reduce home emissions by up to 5.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year per home.
Learmonth said, “Increasing the uptake of renewable energy, storage and related infrastructure is critical to Australia’s net zero ambitions and clean energy transition. The installation of more rooftop solar, home batteries and energy efficiency equipment will help unlock additional clean energy capacity. This means we can better manage energy demand and ultimately contribute to the creation of a stronger, more reliable and cleaner grid.”
Plenti CEO Daniel Foggo said consumers “want lower energy bills and to reduce their household emissions”, but have been put off by the high upfront costs.
“Discounted finance will help households overcome these cost barriers, and help unlock faster uptake of energy efficiency equipment, reducing energy bills and accelerating Australia’s transition to net zero.
Plenti has previously delivered the $100 million South Australia Home Battery Scheme and the New South Wales Empowering Homes Program pilot. It has experience delivering green finance to Australian households via its circa-600 strong national accredited installer network.
