ASFI Webinar: Australia's Household Energy Upgrades Fund
In May 2023, the Australian Government announced a $1 billion Household Energy Upgrades Fund to fast-track energy efficiency retrofits of Australian homes. The Fund will be administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) working with delivery partners such as banks, non-bank lenders and energy retailers to offer discounted consumer financial products to help households improve the energy performance of their homes. These could include green home loans, green personal loans, and other approaches such as on-bill financing.
On November 16, ASFI held a webinar to learn how the HEUF can help accelerate home energy upgrades for Australian homes and hear international examples of home retrofit finance – what works, what doesn't, and how to design for success.
Grace Tam, Head of Consumer Finance at the CEFC provided an update on the HEUF. Then experts from leading industry bodies and financial institutions in the UK and US spoke to the range of finance approaches that are being deployed in those jurisdictions and beyond.
Topics
Green mortgages for home retrofits
On-bill financing through energy retailers
"On-property" or "PACE" financing that is attached to the property not the home-owner
Supporting low-income households to access the benefits of energy efficiency
Stimulating household demand for energy efficiency
Safeguarding consumers against risks such as unsafe installation
And the role of the broader eco-system – including policy and funding – to support a functioning market for home energy efficiency finance.
Speakers and Resources
Grace Tam
Head of Consumer Finance, Clean Energy Finance Corporation
Emma Harvey-Smith
Programme Director, Green Finance Institute
Bruce Mast
Principal, Ardenna Energy
Bill Peterson
Senior Lending Office and Director of Climate Lending, Amalgamated Bank
Erika Moreira
Residential and Green Mortgages Propositions Lead, Barclays
Jayson Uppal
Sr. Director, Products & Markets, PosiGen