CEFC commits $200m to help small business take up solar, efficiency and EVs

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has committed another $200 million to work with ANZ Bank to deliver discounted loans to help customers adopt solar, efficiency, recycling and electric vehicle technologies.

The program will deliver discounts of 0.5 per cent – equally shared by the CEFC money and ANZ – for loans of up to $5 million. .

Activities intended to benefit from the loans will include renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, precision agricultural equipment, EVs and – for the first time – recycling technologies,

“Small to medium businesses are a critical part of Australia’s economy,” said Ian Learmonth, the CEO of the CEFC.

“As the cost of energy and other inputs continues to rise, it is important to help them access the benefits that renewable energy, battery storage and energy efficient equipment can deliver.”

Learmonth says the CEFC has been working with the ANZ for five years, and witnessed strong interest from SMEs in using clean energy technologies to reduce their carbon footprint and improve their energy efficiency.

The CEFC’s latest investment takes its total cumulative commitment to the ANZ clean energy finance program up to $450 million.

It says that at least 10 per cent of the new financing will be directed towards recycling equipment, strengthening waste processing and resource recovery operations and cutting landfill emissions.

Isaac Rankin, ANZ’s head of commercial and private banking, said business customers are looking to shift their operations towards a more sustainable future.

“Whether it be an electric truck or solar panels, we want to give Australian businesses access to finance, services and advice to invest in equipment which will help them shift to low carbon business models and operations that put them on a path to net zero emissions.” he said.