FAQs
1.I am a small business / agribusiness
There are limits to our ability to consider individual smaller-scale projects. That’s why we have created our asset finance programs with major banks, specialised lenders and funds.
These programs allow us to tap into the large and established customer networks of the co-financiers.
They also mean that borrowers have a more simplified process to access our finance, through a range of established co-financiers.
We have structured these programs so that the benefits of the CEFC finance flows directly through to the borrower.
Eligible projects range from small-scale rooftop solar and battery storage, to energy efficient manufacturing and farm equipment, as well as improved building insulation, heating and cooling, demand management systems and low emissions vehicles.
Projects are typically valued at up to $5 million, with an average investment of some $100,000.
Please contact one of our co-financiers directly.
More information: CEFC asset finance
Each investment opportunity is considered on a case by case basis by the co-financier.
Projects are typically valued at up to $5 million, with an average investment of some $100,000.
We do not assess individual projects. Please contact one of our co-financiers directly.
More information: CEFC asset finance
We have a limited ability to consider smaller-scale projects.
Our asset finance programs are an effective way for us to extend the reach of our finance to thousands of investors, together with major banks, specialised lenders and funds.
We have structured these programs so that the benefits of the CEFC finance flow directly through to the borrower.
We do not assess individual projects. Please contact one of our co-financiers directly.
More information: CEFC asset finance
The CEFC doesn’t give grants. We invest, in both debt and equity, and work to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
The CEFC does not provide finance to individual borrowers and is not involved in individual financing decisions. Interested borrowers should contact their co-financier directly.
We do not assess individual projects. If you have a smaller-scale project, please go directly to the lenders involved in our current programs.
Please note that we do not provide finance advice and we are not involved in individual financing decisions.
More information: CEFC asset finance
2.I am an innovator
Our Clean Energy Innovation Fund is focusing on investing in innovative companies which are capitalising on exciting new cleantech opportunities to accelerate the transition to net zero emissions.
We invest in clean energy companies working in renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technologies.
Our innovation focus is on technologies and businesses that have passed beyond the research and development stage and are ready for commercialisation. This means they have well-developed technologies and have identified a clear path to market.
Companies and projects are expected to have experienced and capable management teams, a competitive edge in technology and innovation, and the potential for both domestic and global market application of their technologies.
Companies that have not yet achieved these commercial development milestones are encouraged to seek support through other avenues.
More information: Innovation Fund
Virescent Ventures manages the Clean Energy Innovation Fund on behalf of the CEFC.
More information: Virescent Ventures website.
Investment opportunities are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Investments are mainly in the form of equity, reflecting the particular nature of start-up and emerging companies. Debt finance is also available.
We don’t have a preferred size of investment. Each investment opportunity is considered on its merits.
Investments via the Innovation Fund are generally of a smaller scale, reflecting the particular nature of start-up and emerging companies.
More information: Innovation Fund
Virescent Ventures manages the Clean Energy Innovation Fund on behalf of the CEFC.
More information: Virescent Ventures website.
As with all investment commitments drawing on CEFC finance, we apply commercial rigour to individual investment decisions, working to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
More information: CEFC Investment Policies
The CEFC does not give grants. We are an investor, in both debt and equity, and work to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
We have a limited ability to respond to all enquiries.
Before contacting us, please be sure to read both our investment guidelines and policies.
Please also ensure your investment opportunity relates to renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technology.
When you contact us, please tell us about yourself, your project, its stage of development, and the finance you are seeking.
Our goal is to respond to investment queries as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience if that takes a little longer than expected.
3.I am an investor / developer
We invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies. Our investments are solely or mainly Australian-based.
Our finance works across the economy – in agriculture, energy generation and storage, infrastructure, property, transport and waste.
More information: Where we invest
Each investment opportunity is considered on a case by case basis.
Reflecting the size of the CEFC, our investments in large-scale projects and funds are usually from $20 million and above.
The CEFC is generally not the sole funder of a clean energy investment, with CEFC investments usually including co-financiers and/or equity partners.
Finance for smaller-scale projects, range from $10,000 to $5 million, are delivered via our asset finance programs.
More information: CEFC Investment Policies
We have a flexible approach to investment, including direct investments; investments in investment funds, and our specialist asset finance programs.
More information: About our finance
We have a limited ability to respond to all enquiries.
Before contacting us, please ensure your investment opportunity relates to renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technology.
More information: Investment Guidelines and Investment Policies
If you have a smaller-scale project, please go directly to the lenders involved in our current programs.
More information: CEFC asset finance
Our goal is to respond to investment queries as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience if that takes a little longer than expected.
Virescent Ventures will seek investment from wholesale investors such as superannuation funds, strategic investors and large family offices. It is not open to retail or non-professional individual investors.
More information: Virescent Ventures website.
4.What is the Household Energy Upgrades Fund?
The $1 billion CEFC Household Energy Upgrades Fund (HEUF) has been established to provide discounted consumer finance to increase energy performance in existing homes in Australia. The Australian Government allocated an additional $1 billion to the CEFC to create the HEUF which works with individual co-financiers to provide products that will fast track sustainability improvements in existing homes. The CEFC is working with financiers to develop a variety of products, the first of which is expected to be available to consumers in 2024.
The HEUF program is looking to support a range of products to fast-track sustainability improvements in existing homes and these may include:
Green home loans: Home loans where the dwellings are renovated or retrofitted to a significantly higher energy performance, through incorporation of clean energy and energy efficient technologies, and support the adoption of credible home energy assessments for green home loans eligibility.
Green personal loans: Personal loans that are used to finance home energy improvements and support the adoption of clean energy technologies.
Innovative concessional financial offerings: Innovative home energy financing products which can unlock energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy technologies uptake. Innovative approaches are being sought in areas that have historically been challenging to reach such renters and strata properties.
We are expecting to announce the first HEUF co-financing program in 2024 with more products and programs to be rolled out over time. Our co-financiers will engage directly with consumers. The CEFC will not consider individual finance requests.
The amount of finance available to consumers as discounted loans will vary depending on the home energy improvements undertaken or clean energy technologies installed. The co-financier involved with each product will consider individual borrowing arrangements on a case-by-case basis. The CEFC will not assess individual finance applications. More details are available in our disclaimer information provided in Q4.11
No. The CEFC does not give grants. The HEUF program will provide discounted finance through co-financiers to borrowers to support them in lifting the energy performance of existing homes.
The products offered through co-financing programs will have a set amount of CEFC funding allocated to them and will remain open at the discretion of co-financiers who will make investment decisions on our behalf according to criteria we have provided.
Home batteries and battery-ready solar PV are among projects that will be eligible for finance via the HEUF co-financing programs. Specific information about eligible technologies will be made available as products are announced by our co-financiers.
Over time we expect to support lending products that can finance other energy efficiency technologies. The goal is to deliver more sustainable homes with a reduced carbon footprint.
Australia’s existing 11 million homes are responsible for more than 10 per cent of total emissions and more than 25 per cent of electricity consumption. This means there is an enormous opportunity to improve their energy performance, delivering benefits for residents and the environment under the CEFC Investment Mandate Direction 2023, the HEUF has been designed to specifically address the emissions intensity of our vast existing housing stock.
Working with co-financiers is a fast and efficient way for CEFC finance to reach borrowers. Alone, we have a limited ability to consider smaller-scale investment requests, but by tapping into the established networks of co-financiers we are able to reach many more households. It’s a tried and tested model that will underpin the success of the Household Energy Upgrades Fund. We have worked with co-financiers since we began investing to deliver more than $2.2 billion in discounted CEFC finance across more than 62,000 individual clean energy asset finance projects to businesses across the economy.
We have conducted a request for proposals process to identify co-financiers interested in offering discounted consumer finance as part of the HEUF program and are working with co-financiers identified through this process to deliver HEUF finance products. Co-financiers who haven’t already approached the CEFC about the HEUF are encouraged to contact the CEFC HEUF team directly through our contact form.
There is a range of criteria under which the CEFC will assess potential investments, including the requirements of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation Act (CEFC Act) and the CEFC Investment Mandate Direction 2023 and CEFC Investment policies.
DISCLAIMER:
The CEFC does not provide finance directly to consumers. Through the HEUF, the CEFC:
- Will provide funding through co-financiers
- Is not responsible for consumers’ loan applications and will not review or assess applications for finance
- Is not responsible for making determinations as to successful consumer loan applicants
- Does not encourage, promote or endorse products or associated companies for installation of products
- Recommends that the consumers complete their own due diligence and research to ensure that products suit their needs
- Recommends that the consumers consult directly with the HEUF delivery organisation in respect to products and labour
- Is not responsible for products or labour selected that are not fit for purpose, do not suit the consumer’s needs or are faulty
- Is not responsible for any incidents, accidents or injuries arising from products or labour associated with the installation of products.
5.Investment decisions
We invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency and low emissions technologies.
Our investments are solely or mainly Australian-based.
They can include businesses and projects that develop, commercialise or use renewable energy, low emissions or energy efficiency technologies, as well as businesses that supply associated goods or services for these technologies.
We invest in both debt and equity, and work to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
We do not invest in carbon capture and storage, nuclear technology or nuclear power.
More information: CEFC Investment Guidelines
The CEFC Investment Guidelines assist investors interested in engaging with the CEFC. Here are our guidelines at a glance:
Renewable energy technologies
- Renewables, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydro, ocean, solar, waste-to-energy and wind
- Hybrids of renewables with other technologies
- Technologies, including enabling technologies, that are related to renewable energy, including the supply of goods or services.
Energy efficiency technologies
- Energy efficiency, including energy conservation and demand management
- Technologies, including enabling technologies, that are related to energy efficiency, including the supply of goods or services.
Low emissions technologies
The Board determines, on a case-by-case basis, whether an investment is a low emissions technology, with regard to the circumstances, conditions and/or other matters referred to in the Investment Guidelines.
Prohibited technologies
- Under the CEFC Act, prohibited technologies are specified as: a technology for carbon capture and storage (within the meaning of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007), nuclear technology and nuclear power.
More information: CEFC Investment Guidelines
Our Executive Investment Committee reviews investment opportunities and makes recommendations to the CEFC Board, which approves suitable investments.
We apply commercial rigour to individual investment decisions, which are made independently of government. We work to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
More information: CEFC Investment Policies
The CEFC doesn’t give grants. We invest in both debt and equity, and work to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across our portfolio.
All our investments are made with the expectation of a positive risk-based financial return. Therefore, concessionality is applied sparingly.
Concessionality may include lower than market interest rates, longer loan maturity, as well as longer and more flexible grace periods before the payment of principal and/or interest is due.
We have a limited ability to respond to all requests for information.
Before contacting us, please ensure your investment opportunity is Australian-based and relates to renewable energy, energy efficiency and/or low emissions technology. It should also be ready for commercialisation.
When using our enquiries form, please include a brief description of your Australian project or technology, your company details and the finance you are seeking.
More information: Investment Guidelines and Investment Policies
If you have a smaller-scale project, please go directly to the co-financiers in our asset finance programs.
More information: CEFC asset finance
Our goal is to respond to investment queries as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience if that takes a little longer than expected.
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Please be sure to have read these FAQs as well as our Investment Policies and Investment Guidelines before contacting us.
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