A recent trend in renewable energy – particular solar products – is the pay-as-you-go method, mostly found in solar products that help charge low-energy products like mobile phones. Installation firm Engensa launched a new financing model that will help households use solar panels without the usually high upfront costs.
SolarLoan will provide customers a 10-year, unsecured loan at a competitive interest rate that would allow users to pay off the loan via savings earned from electricity bills. The idea is that solar panels will generate enough revenue via electricity savings and feed-in tariff payments. Engensa CEO Toby Darbyshire told BusinessGreen that the mechanism was modeled on a 4-kWh system. He said: "The repayments are £92 a month on the loan, but you earn £100 a month from the panels. That means the household is making around £100 a year right from the off, but if you consider likely energy price increases that could quickly rise to £200 to £300 a year. Also once the loan is paid off after 10 years, you then get another 15 years when you are getting all the revenue from the feed-in tariffs – over the 25 years people could see returns of up to £30,000."
SolarLoan will be available to residents in parts of the UK in June with a nationwide rollout in October.
Alternative Energy