Govt to underwrite loans for Green Deal
"The Green deal is the largest ever programme for investing in the energy efficiency of our housing stock and we are looking at whether and how a guarantee could ensure that the finances are in place to get the programme of to a very strong start," said a statement from Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander.
Treasury has also received 30 expressions of interest under the loan programme and receives more "on a daily basis", it said.
A Treasury spokesperson could not confirm the other projects currently under consideration and confirmed they would be announced once the loans were agreed, which is expected "towards the end of the year". The Green Deal should be considered in the sense of a single guarantee, separate from ongoing expressions of interest, he said.
A separate £7m loan from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to The Green Deal Finance Company was also announced.
Under the Guarantees scheme, Infrastructure UK will provide short-term loans to existing PPP deals that are struggling to raise finance in the current market and underwrite up to £40bn of private finance. The government will also underwrite the construction risk on a project, or the risk of future revenue streams, in a move designed to encourage more institutional investors to come into the market.
Eligible projects will have to meet five key criteria: nationally significant; ready to begin construction in the next 12 months; financially credible; not otherwise financeable; good value for money.
