Australian government-owned lender Clean Energy Finance Corp. will provide up to A$20 million (US$16.4 million) to ET Solar to accelerate the take-up of solar PV in the large commercial sector.
Under the CEFC financed program, ET Solar will own, operate and maintain a customer’s solar PV system – varied to suit their energy requirements with system sizes ranging between 30 kilowatts and 2 megawatts – and the customer agrees to purchase electricity at an agreed rate, which is lower than current electricity costs.
ET Solar will provide up to A$13.3 million in equity, while the CEFC is providing up to A$20 million in senior debt finance towards the program.
“We see the PPA finance model as a way to remove the barrier of the upfront capital requirement which should enable many more Australian businesses to benefit from solar, reducing energy costs and lowering emissions,” CEFC CEO Oliver Yates said.
ET Solar’s first PV systems installed through this program will involve large-scale commercial projects in Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales, with a rollout to all states around Australia.
The PPA model has proven highly successful overseas, with more than 75 per cent of new household PV systems in California using lease financing. Internationally, major businesses including Apple, Ikea, Toyota and supermarket giants Walmart, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Aldi have installed commercial scale solar PV systems.
ET Solar Group CEO Dennis She, said the PPA product would expand options available for Australian commercial customers. “With this investment through the CEFC, the rollout of ET Solar’s PPA model will help large energy consumers in industries like mining, shopping centres and manufacturing to significantly reduce their electricity costs,” he said.