CEFC to back new green loans program to support household solar, batteries and upgrades

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has signed an agreement with ING Australia to deliver another low-rate green loan product to fund energy efficient home upgrades. The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) this week which will see the CEFC consider investing up to $75 million to help finance a $150 million ING Green Upgrade Loan program. In what is expected to be the third investment from the CEFC’s Household Energy Upgrades Fund (HEUF), the investment would help deliver a fixed rate of 3.74 per cent, which represents a discount of 2 per cent on an ING Fixed Rate Home Loan over the first five years of the loan. On an ING Green Upgrade Loan balance of $50,000 a customer could save up to $5000 over the first five years. Under the ING Green Upgrade Loan, eligible ING mortgage customers would be able to apply to borrow up to $50,000 to fund the installation of a range of clean energy technologies to improve energy efficiency, reduce energy use, and cut emissions. Technologies could include battery ready solar PV, batteries, and inverters. “We’ve designed our Green Upgrade Loan following customer and mortgage broker feedback that the retrofitting process is complex and time consuming,” said Melanie Evans, ING CEO. “If we want to accelerate decarbonisation, we need to remove the complexities and barriers that are stopping people from making their homes more energy efficient.” Announcing the MoU, the CEFC said only that it “will consider” the investment of up to $75 million, but gave no indication of when such consideration would turn to reality, nor what considerations are being weighed. Backed by $1 billion from the Australian government to fast-track sustainability improvements in existing housing, the HEUF helps to provide discounted consumer finance through a broad range of co-financiers. The CEFC has reportedly received proposals for investment opportunities worth more than $850 million in green loans but has only announced HEUF-backed investments worth $220 million. Further commitments are expected to be announced next year. “Helping households lower their carbon footprint is a critical factor in achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” said Ian Learmonth, CEFC CEO. “Our work crowding in additional private capital through the HEUF will help deliver a catalytic outcome, providing low-cost financing together with a range of co-financiers for home upgrades that improve energy performance.”