Loans of $10,000 to lower home energy use

Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday 9/5/2009 Page: 5

THE Federal Government will offer people interest-free loans of up to $10,000 to help them make their homes more energy and water-efficient. Up to 75,000 loans will be offered but this is less than half the number announced when Labor first made the promise during the election campaign.

The Minister for the Environment, Peter Garrett, said this was because government rebates had since been introduced to help householders install specific devices such as solar hot water systems and insulation. "These are sensible changes to the green loans program which acknowledge that many home owners won't need a loan to make big changes to improve their energy efficiency," be said.

The loans will be available to households with a combined income of up to $250,000 and be interest-free for four years. The Government anticipates that loans will be repaid in that time but if they are not then market interest rates will apply to the remainder of the loan. Five credit unions have agreed to run the loans on behalf of the Government but none of the major banks have shown interest.

Before getting a loan, people will have to have their home audited for its energy and water usage by an approved assessor. The Government will cover the cost of 360,000 home inspections over the next five years. "The fact is that, for many households, the assessor will identify simple, low-cost actions like changing light globes, sealing draughts and repairing leaking taps," Mr Garrett said.

People would be directed to apply for separate government rebates if they were found to have energy-guzzling household items, such as an electric hot water system. The Government announced earlier this week that voluntary actions by householders to reduce their emissions would also be taken into account as part of the emissions trading system.

People will be able to donate money to a newly created Carbon Trust, which will use the money to buy carbon permits. If people choose to destroy the permits, the Government says this will mean there are fewer permits available to industry. The Government will also adjust the emissions reduction target to account for people who wish to have their power generated by environmentally friendly sources through the Greenpower scheme. But it will only count people who join the scheme after 2009.

The Alternative fast rising said yesterday existing customers should also be counted. "Once again, people willing to make a personal contribution to reducing Australia's carbon emissions get no reward for their efforts, while the big polluters get a helping hand," the association's Damien Moyse said. The association asked 750 of its members whether they would continue to buy Greenpower if their efforts were not recognised by the emissions trading scheme. A third said they would not.