Standard Bank’s LookSee first to launch Solar Loan

South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis means the country is desperate for alternative energy solutions.

The impact of load shedding has caused most households and businesses to try and get around the harsh effects of recurring power-cuts.

While solar energy presents a viable long-term renewable energy option, the cost of installation can be quite pricey – requiring one to take out a loan to fund the project.

Energy Bounce Back Loan Guarantee Scheme

With the introduction of National Treasury’s Energy Bounce Back (EBB) Loan Guarantee Scheme in August, it is now easier and more affordable to get solar energy in your house.

Standard Bank is the first bank to go live for residential loans with its offering for the EBB scheme. Its home efficiency platform, LookSee.co.za, launched the Solar Loan after Standard Bank signed an agreement with National Treasury last week.  

The Solar Loan offering could be a gamechanger for energy-starved South Africans. These loans make it more affordable than ever to get solar systems installed at homes.

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LookSee’s Solar Loan comes with personalised interest rates that are capped at Prime plus 2.5%. This is much lower than the average of Prime +7% or the maximum Prime +17.5% stipulated by the National Credit Act- which means South Africans can get a massive discount on their solar installations. The loans are also available to everyone, not just Standard Bank customers.

“We’re really excited about the potential of the Solar Loan as it makes the benefits of solar accessible to more households by reducing the gap between the savings on the electricity bill and the monthly repayments. And once the loan is paid off, customers start seeing the ‘pure’ savings of reducing their reliance on the grid,” says Marc du Plessis, Executive Head of LookSee.

The LookSee Solar Loan offers full system financing that ranges from R3 000 to R300 000.

The loans can be used for anything related to solar energy – from kitting out your home with a full solar system to adding extra panels to your existing system. It also covers everything that is needed in the solar installation, such as panels, inverters, batteries and installation costs.

The timing of the launch of the Solar Loan is also beneficial to South Africans, with the current surplus of solar equipment and prices lower than ever.

Flexible payment terms

The Solar Loan also offers flexible payment terms which allow borrowers to repay the amount over a period of 12 months to five years (60 months) to suit their monthly budget.

Another advantage is that customers will not be penalised for paying off their loan earlier. And any additional amounts paid into the loan account will also automatically reduce the interest owed.

“Because of the reduction in monthly electricity bills that customers will enjoy, we believe this provides a great opportunity to reduce your outstanding loan balance in a flexible manner, with the eventual outcome that once the loan is paid off, you’re generating your own free electricity from the sun,” points out Du Plessis.

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There are, however, two stipulations from National Treasury that need to be met for the Solar Loan.

The first is that the loan must be used to install at least one solar panel and cannot be used to pay for anything else, such as a car or new TV.

“This means that if you don’t want to use LookSee’s bank vetted solar kit and installation offering, you will need to provide an invoice that has at least one solar panel included,” said du Plessis.

The second is that customers can only qualify for one EBB loan, which can obviously only come from one bank.

South Africans also need to be aware that Treasury has set a time limit for the loans. The Solar Loans are only available until 30 August 2024, so there couldn’t be a better time to move on this offering.  Prices of Solar equipment have reduced, and now a very affordable loan is available to households.

Tax rebate

Households can also access a 25% tax rebate on the cost of qualifying solar panels up to a maximum of R15 000 – through National Treasury’s Home Solar Tax Incentive.

However, National Treasury has limited the rebates to solar systems that “come into use” between 1 March 2023 and 29 February 2024.

“Our aim has always been to help households affordably secure their home’s power supply and save money and the Solar Loan means we can do just that for far more families,” says Du Plessis.

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