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Interest Free Solar Loans

Brighte – Interest Free Loans for Solar Systems

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Energy finance startup Brighte think upfront costs of solar are too high. Their interest free, buy now pay later app aims to increase Australia’s solar uptake. 

Brighte, Energy Finance and Katherine McConnell

Brighte Solar
The ‘Afterpay of Solar’ (source: Brighte website)

The company was set up by former Macquarie Group senior manager Katherine McConnell in 2015, drawing fundraising from former investment director at Hastings Funds Management (now known as Vantage Infrastructure), Kim Jackson, and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes. The Series B funding round raised $18.5m, with Mr Cannon-Brookes calling it ‘part of the unbundling of banking’ in the AFR.

McConnell shares a lot with Audrey Sizbelman, the head of the Australian Energy Market Operator, who has been warning about the high cost of solar driving a wedge between the ‘haves and the have-not’s’:

“I think the fact that someone can leave the system [the electricity network] because they can rely on their own resources is a good thing for an individual but it isn’t for the rest of us, because it means you have a smaller pot of people to maintain the system,” Ms Zibelman said.

“We do not want to invite an economic bypass,” she said, “creating the haves and the have-nots”.

This is why Brighte has been set up to offer a system similar to the extremely successful Afterpay, but for installing solar and other improvements like air-conditioning or more efficient lighting and heating. 

“(Brighte) is a digital credit platform, sort of an energy-focused Afterpay so you buy now and pay later,” she told Fairfax Media.

“However, it differs to Afterpay as our customers are interacting for longer, as they’re not walking out of a store with their purchases, they can keep buying.

“We had direct feedback from businesses that felt there was a need for something faster and easy to support these transactions.”

According to Ms McConnell, they’re already funded over 7,500 homes and work with over 500 vendors. 

The 0% interest plans are available up to $30,000 and repayment terms are up to 60 months. If you’re interested in learning more or finding a ‘Brighte Vendor’ (i.e. a solar company aligned with them who are happy to help offer the interest free solar) please click here to visit the website.

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Solar loans in South Australia, sonnen to move HQ

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Premier Jay Weatherill has announced $100m for solar loans in South Australia. Up to 10,000 South Australian homeowners will be able to access up to $10,000 for loans for solar panels, batteries, or both. The loans will be interest free for the first 7  years. At the same time, German company sonnen has announced it will relocate its Australian headquarters from Sydney to Adelaide – we’ll report more on that next week. 

Solar Loans in South Australia

Solar Loans in South Australia
Solar Loans in South Australia (source: Jeremy Buckingham via Wikipedia)

Yesterday the Labor party made the announcement that they will offer these solar loans for private homes – with Premier Weatherill discussing the ramifications of the plan in a press conference:

“It’s going to slash bills, we’ve already seen that with our virtual power station, modelling demonstrates a 30 per cent reduction in energy power,” he said.

“We’ve seen from the national regulator that renewable energy projects are projected to reduce energy bills by $300 over the next two years, so it’s just beginning to happen.”

The Liberal party already announced a very similar policy last October so it looks like there’ll be a good result for renewables no matter who wins – it’s a little surprising to see Premier Weatherill offer something so similar when he has been such a champion of renewable energy for so long. Regardless, it’s a great scheme and one which will have a good result either way – South Australia continues to lead the charges with regards to renewables in Australia.

According to the ABC, opposition leader Steven Marshall said their $100m plan was to provide grants of $2,500 per household for 40,000 dwellings – so less money, but for more properties. Mr Marshall argued that 10,000 households was not enough to ‘shift the dial’ with regards to ballooning energy prices:

“The reality is 10,000 is not going to shift the dial in South Australia in terms of prices, unlike the Liberal Party which has put our policy up for independent scrutiny and we know that prices will come down under the Liberal Party’s energy policy,” Mr Marshall said.

“We’ve put our plan out for independent evaluation.

“Labor still hasn’t provided any indication whether this is going to bring down energy prices in South Australia for any more than just the 10,000 people it’s talking about.”

Back in October last year the Liberal party said their plan will save $300 per household per annum, but later admitted their modelling was inaccurate and the savings will be around $70 and won’t start until 2022. To achieve that figure of $300 a $500m-$700m interconnecter to New South Wales would need to be connected by 2021.

No word on specific savings with regards to Labor’s plan so for the time being voters will need to decide whether $2,500 for 40,000 houses or $10,000 for 10,000 houses is going to have a better effect on energy prices and stability. No doubt we’ll have more information on this as election time draws nearer! 

 

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