Consortium to bankroll cheap loans for 'green deal' energy efficiency drive

A number of blue chip names in banking, building and energy have signed a deal to create a unique not-for-profit financial company which will deliver billions of pounds of energy efficiency investment to residential and business premises, reports the Guardian.

The aim of the companies, which include power companies British Gas and E.ON, retailer B&Q and the banks HSBC and Goldman Sachs, is to ensure low-cost finance is available to the 14m homes the government hopes will be refitted by 2020 under its green deal starting in October 2012.

The green deal will enable homeowners and businesses to access loans for loft lagging, cavity wall insulation and other efficiency measures. It is a rule of the scheme that the savings on energy bills must be at least as big as the loan repayments.

Read more on this story at the Guardian.