Commbank Announces Green Loan For Solar Power

CBA, Commbank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia or whatever you want to call it has announced an upcoming very low interest green loan that can be used to finance the purchase of a solar power system.

The CommBank Green Loan will be available to Commonwealth Bank home loan customers to purchase and install renewable energy technology such as solar panels, battery systems and electric vehicle chargers at the property used as security for the existing home loan.

“The CommBank Green Loan offers an historically low 0.99% p.a. secured fixed rate loan for eligible CommBank customers to fund up to $20,000 in renewables repaid over 10 years with no set up, monthly service or early repayment charges, adding to our already market leading home lending solutions,” said Group Executive Angus Sullivan.

Mr. Sullivan said most will see their energy bill slashed by over $500 per year through installing solar panels. In fact, it could be much more even if only utilising a fraction of the cash available.

For example, the cost of a 6.6kW solar system is averaging around $6,000 at the moment. The SolarQuotes solar calculator with its default settings (but dialling the price down to 6k) indicates a system of this size installed in Sydney could be expected to provide a financial benefit of around $1,800 in its first year and a simple payback of around 3 years, 4 months.

The CommBank Green Loan is operating under a pilot program starting this month, with the national rollout to kick in during May. CBA customers wanting to register their interest can do so here.

Pick up some tips and info on financing a solar system purchase, including using an offset facility or redraw as part of your mortgage to go solar.

CBA Supporting New England Solar Farm

In other solar-related news from Commonwealth Bank, it announced yesterday it was one of three banks providing construction financing for UPC\AC Renewables Australia’s New England Solar Farm, which is under construction near Uralla in northern central New South Wales.

To be a 720MWac facility with 400MWh of battery storage, the first stage of New England Solar Farm’s development will be 400MWac. Grid connection and initial energy exports are expected by July 2022, with the remainder of the project to be completed over the following two years.

  “CBA is pleased to partner with UPC\AC Renewables Australia in what is a significant development in Australia’s transition to reduce carbon emissions,” said CBA’s Managing Director of Sustainable Finance and ESG. ” As the nation’s largest bank, we are committed to Australia’s renewable energy sector and to supporting high-quality clean energy projects.”

As for the bank’s efforts to reduce its own carbon emissions, CBA noted in its 2020 Annual Report that CommBank was sourcing 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources for its Australian operations, 10 years ahead of an original RE100 commitment of 2030. Commbank had also increased its onsite renewable energy generation capacity to 1,510kW of solar capacity at 80 sites across the country, exceeding a 2020 target of 1,250kW.

In terms of its related lending practices, CommBank was the first of Australia’s big four banks to formally announce a Paris-aligned 2030 date for exiting exposure to thermal coal and requires any new fossil fuel projects seeking finance to demonstrate compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement. An analysis of Commonwealth Bank’s 2019 policy update can be found here.