Provides financial solutions through U-Solar, Asia’s first solar industry ecosystem, to spur Singapore’s switch to solar power
United Overseas Bank (UOB) today announced its collaboration with three leading homegrown solar companies, SolarGy, SolarPVExchange and Sunseap Group, to accelerate the use of solar energy in Singapore. The tie-up is part of the Bank’s U-Solar programme, Asia’s first solar industry ecosystem1 . U-Solar connects the entire solar power value chain to help businesses and consumers switch to solar power, enabling them to reduce their reliance on non-renewable energy.
Under the collaboration, business and home owners will be able to adopt solar energy by choosing from the installation, commissioning, operations and after-sales service packages for solar power systems provided by SolarGy, SolarPVExchange and Sunseap Group. To help with the costs of installing and maintaining the system, UOB will offer business owners solar equipment financing. Home owners can opt for a zero per cent interest instalment plan of up to 36 months.
UOB’s U-Solar programme also supports the Government’s twin goals of becoming a leading centre for green finance in Asia and globally2 and increasing Singapore’s solar capacity by about eight times to two gigawatt-peak by 2030 – enough to power about 350,000 households a year3.
Mr Frederick Chin, Head of Group Wholesale Banking and Markets, UOB, said, “Solar power is not only a clean and efficient energy source but has also become a more economically viable option4 as the technology to harness solar energy matures. Despite this, many companies and consumers remain hesitant to adopt solar power, believing that it requires high upfront investment. With U-Solar, businesses and home owners will be able to make the switch to solar power easily without having to worry about how to fund the purchase of the solar power system for their factories, offices and homes.”
The U-Solar programme was launched in Singapore today as part of UOB’s ‘Solar Day’ event. At the event, UOB customers learnt from the Bank’s U-Solar partners in Singapore about the benefits of solar power and how it can complement their energy needs. UOB also invited speakers from Allen & Gledhill, Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore and SP Group to share their insights such as the legal aspects of generating solar power and tips on how to install and to maintain solar rooftops.
UOB’s regional U-Solar initiative was first launched in Malaysia in October 2019 and subsequently in Indonesia.
For more information on U-Solar, please visit: www.UOBgroup.com/U-Solar.
1 UOB first launched U-Solar, Asia’s first solar industry ecosystem, to power the development and adoption of renewable energy in October 2019. Please refer to the news release for more information: https://www.uobgroup.com/web-resources/uobgroup/pdf/newsroom/2019/UOB-USolar.pdf
2 Announced by Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education, Singapore and Board Member, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at SFF x SWITCH 2019 on 11 November 2019. Source: https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/speeches/2019/green-finance-for-a-sustainable-world
3 The target was announced by the Energy Market Authority of Singapore on 29 October 2019. Source: https://www.ema.gov.sg/media_release.aspx?news_sid=20191029Yk3uENU5Z4bL
4 Solar energy is now at grid parity in Singapore. This means that the cost of generating solar power is competitive with the cost of fossil fuel-derived electricity provided by the national utility, even without subsidies. Source: https://www.edb.gov.sg/en/news-and-events/insights/manufacturing/5-must-haves-for-a-successful-solar-project.html
