OCBC floats Singapore's first consumer loan for installing solar panels

Landed property homeowners can borrow up to $30,000.

OCBC has launched Singapore’s first consumer loan for the installation of residential solar panels, the bank said in a press release.

The loan facility provides landed property homeowners with a term financing option for the installation of solar panels. Each homeowner can borrow up to $30,000 with a tenure of between one to five years.

The bank has entered an exclusive partnership with Sembcorp Power, the electricity retail arm of Sembcorp, to provide homeowners with onsite solar panel installation assessment. The initial consultation costs will be borne by Sembcorp Power.

Homeowners can reportedly expect to save on average more than 20% of their household electricity bill, based on SP regulated tariffs, when they sign up for an electricity plan with Sembcorp Power.

Households with excess electricity generated by their solar panels can also opt to sell the power back to the national electricity grid to offset its electricity costs, the bank added.

Eligible homeowners can apply online for the solar panel loan within five minutes and get loan approval within as fast as 60 seconds using OCBC’s instant online approval platform and SingPass’ verification service MyInfo.

Singapore has reportedly seen residential solar installations increase by more than 30 times over the past 10 years, notes OCBC. The country aims to generate 1.5 gigawatt-peak (GWp) of solar energy by 2025 – almost four times the current capacity of 390 megawatt-peak (MWp).

Singapore also aspires to halve carbon emissions from its peak by 2050, with a longer-term view to achieve net-zero emissions as soon as viable in the second half of the century.