Antinuclear

Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation can write contracts before July

CEFC may write financing contracts before July, REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson 26 April 2013 The newly created Clean Energy Finance Corporation is likely to enter contracts for financing deals even before July 1, when the first of its $10 billion in funding becomes available, according to CEO Oliver Yates.

In an interview with RenewEconomy, Yates said the CEFC was capable of entering contracts in coming months, even if the $2 billion that can be spent by the organization in 2013/14 is not available until July 1.

The CEFC has become a subject of controversy because of the Coalition’s pledge to disband it, among other clean energy and climate change institutions, should it be elected in September, and because of the Coalition’s demand that it not make any investments pending the result of the election.

The CEFC became fully operational at the start of this month, and now boasts 50 staff, including those incorporated from Low Carbon Australia (LCA). As we reported on Wednesday, the government has released its final investment mandate, which defines its targeted returns and manner of operations.

Yates said the work of the LCA, particularly in the areas of energy efficiency, would continue, and would likely be upscaled. This would allow larger clients such as municipalities, hospitals and universities to get financing assistance for these sorts of projects.

“These organizations have got budget cycles, so they find it hard to fund such investments up front,” Yates said.  ”We can help with that.”

Yates also identified solar leasing as an area of interest for the CEFC. Solar leasing, which allows home-owners and commercial companies to install solar PV on their rooftops for no deposit, removing the problems of upfront capital cost, has taken off in the US, where it accounts for around three-quarters of new installations. The financing is now well supported by mainstream banks such as Goldman Sachs and US Bancorp.

In Australia, however, solar leasing is relatively new and has struggled to gain finance from banks at interesting rates because they have no experience of the technology or the financing, and have so far resorted mostly to the private wealth market.

Yates said it was typical of the sort of investments where the CEFC could play some sort of trail-blazing role that would encourage the commercial market to follow…….http://reneweconomy.com.au/2013/cefc-may-write-financing-contracts-before-july-28670

April 26, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, energy