Some people have an average monthly net income of several hundred yuan, some people have insufficient power generation income to repay loans, and the collective entry of industry giants is expected to regulate the market
Is "Photovoltaic Loan" a Wealth Management Tool or a Scam Trap?
Since March this year, many leading companies in the photovoltaic industry, including JA Smart Energy, LONGi Green Energy, Trina Solar, and Chint Anneng, have launched "photovoltaic loan" related products and services.
The collective entry of giants has made the controversial "photovoltaic loan" the focus again.
In fact, "photovoltaic loan" is not a new thing, it has been promoted all over the country a few years ago.
Some farmers say that this project has become a financial tool for them to receive no principal and interest, but there are also farmers who complain that the "photovoltaic loan" has made them fall into the trap and regret it.
The same photovoltaic loan, why is it a different reputation?
someone earns
Net income of several hundred per month
Photovoltaic loan becomes financial helper
A few days ago, Xiaoxing, a netizen in Liaocheng, Shandong, posted a financial story about his stable profit from photovoltaic power generation.
Last year, he applied for a photovoltaic loan of 200,000 yuan and built a photovoltaic power station in an idle rural yard at home, which has been running for a year.
The total electricity bill for photovoltaic electricity in June this year published by Xiaoxing shows that the total power generation in the month was 8080kwh, the on-grid electricity bill was 3190.79 yuan, the subsidized electricity bill was 242.40 yuan, and the total electricity revenue was 3433.19 yuan.
After deducting the monthly payment of 2,700 yuan, he earned more than 700 yuan in June.
Of course, due to the difference in sunshine conditions, it is not possible to earn so much electricity bills every month, and sometimes lose some money.
For example, in January this year, only more than 3,000 kWh of electricity was generated. After the summer in May and June, the sunshine time became longer, and the power generation capacity increased to more than 8,000 kWh.
However, Xiaoxing said that in the past year, the average monthly income from electricity bills is about 3,000 yuan, which can cover the bank's monthly payment.
"It took 8 years to repay the loan money, and no matter how much electricity is generated in the future, the income will be all my own." For the future, Xiaoxing is full of expectations.
Ms. Chen, a netizen from Zhejiang, said that she installed a power station with photovoltaic loans at home. "I can make some money in summer, but I feel like I can just repay the loan." Of course, after the loan is repaid in a few years, the income from power generation will become the net income of Chen's family. income.
In her view, this is the greatest value of photovoltaic loans.
someone pays
The leather bag company rolls the road
Someone shouted being deceived
At the same time, many farmers reported falling into the "photovoltaic loan" scam.
At the end of last year, the media reported what happened to Mr. Li, a farmer in Fujian.
Mr. Li learned from the news that photovoltaic power generation is high-tech and promising, so when the salesman brought a thick stack of contracts, he signed it without looking closely.
The next day, salespeople and people from the credit union came to Mr. Li to apply for a loan of 200,000 yuan.
Six months later, Mr. Li felt that the situation was not good.
The income from the monthly power generation cannot repay the loan at all, and he has to transfer the loan to repay the loan by himself.
The salesman's promises that "the photovoltaic panels generate enough electricity to cover the loan interest" and "even if the weather is bad, the power generation is insufficient, the company can compensate for the difference" and other promises, will not be fulfilled after a few months. Knowing that the boss of the photovoltaic company ran away, the salesman disappeared.
In the first year of installation, Mr. Li will pay 2,000 yuan; in the second year, he will pay 4,000 yuan; in the third year, it is estimated that he will pay at least 5,000 yuan.
In addition to the loan principal and interest to be repaid, there are miscellaneous maintenance fees, thousands of dollars per year.
Because the people from the photovoltaic company ran away, Mr. Li could only admit that he was unlucky, blaming himself for trusting the salesman.
Mr. Li's experience is not an exception, and some regions have even "talked about loan discoloration" for photovoltaic loans.
On May 16 this year, the government of Sanyuan County, Shaanxi Province issued an announcement on the promotion of the pilot project of rooftop distributed power generation in the whole county.
The announcement stated, “According to feedback from other provinces, during the promotion of the pilot project of rooftop distributed power generation in the whole county, some out-of-town photovoltaic leather bag companies appeared under the banner of developing photovoltaic power generation, in order to help farmers solve the construction of photovoltaic power generation funds. Photovoltaic loan, a batch of loans is collected and run away, resulting in unclear property rights, no management of after-sales operation and maintenance, no security risks, no guarantee of normal operation, and unrepayable loans in the later period, deceiving farmers into the 'photovoltaic loan scam' Phenomenon."
The announcement pointed out that when choosing a photovoltaic enterprise, the public must choose a photovoltaic implementation enterprise registered in the county and reported to the industry competent authority (county development and reform bureau) to protect their own interests from damage.
It is recommended that the masses go to financial institutions to consult loan matters as much as possible to avoid falling into the trap of "photovoltaic loan".
On June 1 this year, Jiangsu Qidong issued the "Notice on the Implementation Opinions on the Pilot Development of Roof Distributed Photovoltaic Development in Qidong City", which requires that under the self-investment mode of owners, photovoltaic development enterprises and photovoltaic equipment distribution enterprises are not allowed to finance loans or loans from farmers. Introduce financial institutions to issue loans to farmers to build photovoltaic projects, transfer the main body of rooftop photovoltaic investment, and increase the economic burden and financial risks of farmers.
Exploring the principle
Rooftop photovoltaic power generation project
There are three profit models
On the one hand, some farmers have benefited from photovoltaic power generation, but on the other hand, some farmers have been deceived after installing the equipment.
Why there is such a different situation, all this has to start from the money-making model of rooftop photovoltaic power generation.
It is understood that the distributed household photovoltaic system needs to install photovoltaic panels and other equipment on the roof to receive light.
People with independent roofs in China are mainly concentrated in rural areas, so farmers have become the largest target group for household photovoltaics.
If farmers want to make money from their own rooftop power generation, there are generally three business models.
The first and easiest way is to buy the equipment and install it at your own expense, and the revenue from the power generation is yours.
Generally, the cost will be paid back in five to eight years. If the photovoltaic power station is used normally for 25 years, the later income is all net profit.
However, this model will put farmers under greater financial pressure in the initial stage and is suitable for families with better economic conditions.
The second mode is to rent out the roof. The farmers do not earn electricity bills and only collect rent.
The general contract will also stipulate that after a few years, the equipment will belong to the farmers, and if the equipment can still generate electricity normally, the farmers will earn money.
The third is photovoltaic loans.
Farmers borrow money from banks and other financial institutions to build power plants in their own names. Photovoltaic companies are responsible for equipment installation, operation and maintenance, and the ownership of power plants belongs to farmers.
During the loan term, the electricity charges collected by the power station are mostly used for repayment and interest payment. After the loan is repaid, the power station income will be owned by the farmers.
industry says
The Qinling Mountains north of the Huaihe River are suitable for
The South is "unacceptable"
Several industry insiders pointed out that the so-called "photovoltaic loan scam" can only be said that the liar used photovoltaics, not that the photovoltaic loan itself is a scam.
Mr. Liu, a senior banker who has been engaged in photovoltaic loan business, said that in the past few years, he has seen many informal enterprises that act as intermediaries, using farmers who have less knowledge about photovoltaics and cannot understand contracts, making photovoltaic loans hype. Induce farmers to make loans in their own name.
Once the leather bag company ran away with the money, and the income from the power station was not enough to repay the loan, the farmers had to make up the shortfall by themselves. If the farmers had no money to repay, the bank would also have bad debts.
"Photovoltaic itself is good, but there were indeed many scammers and non-standard companies in the early years. Why is it not easy for houses and cars to play this kind of scam? Because the price is relatively transparent. The threshold for photovoltaics is relatively high, and most people do not understand what is going on. This thing conforms to national policy and is easy to tell stories. Some fraud companies can deceive farmers' banks from both ends." Mr. Liu analyzed this.
However, Mr. Liu also emphasized that companies that engage in photovoltaic loan scams are completely different from manufacturers that formally produce photovoltaic materials. The former is a trading company and a leather bag company, and the latter is a manufacturing company. The two cannot be confused.
A reporter from Beijing Youth Daily found that most farmers in the northern region were satisfied with the benefits and prospects of "photovoltaic loans", while those in southern regions who felt "deceived" or dissatisfied with the benefits were mostly farmers.
Mr. Li, an industry insider, pointed out that the revenue of rooftop photovoltaic power generation is mainly affected by sunlight, and the sunlight resources, local desulfurization coal electricity prices and even subsidies are different in each province.
These uncertainties largely affect the profitability of photovoltaic power generation.
For example, the same photovoltaic loan product may be repaid in five or six years in Shandong, but in the south, such as Jiangxi, Fujian and other provinces, it will take at least 8 years.
In general, the area north of the Huaihe River in the Qinling Mountains is more suitable for photovoltaic power generation. In the south, there is a lot of rain and there are typhoons along the coast. The sunshine time is likely to be insufficient, so it is not suitable.
In addition, the material quality, installation process, and post-maintenance of different brands of photovoltaic equipment are quite different, and farmers themselves cannot identify the quality gap.
Once these factors cause the actual income of photovoltaic loans to be lower than expected, or even cause the attenuation and damage of the power station, the farmers will ultimately pay the bill.
For example, when some small companies install rooftop photovoltaics, in order to defraud more loans and falsely report the cost, they will use cheaper and inferior products. These solar panels cannot be used for 10 years at all.
When things go wrong with the product, the company has disappeared.
Mr. Li believes that if they do not understand these problems, farmers should not blindly follow the trend to apply for "photovoltaic loans", and it is more secure to rent out roofs.
Looking to the future
Giants join hands with banks to enter the game
or will regulate the relevant market
In the current domestic distributed photovoltaic market, due to the uneven service level of third-party partners, users will have various concerns and doubts. The issues of reliable financing, power station quality and later income guarantee have become the "big problems" that current users are concerned about.
Since March this year, many leading companies in the photovoltaic industry, including JA Smart Energy, LONGi Green Energy, Trina Solar, and Chint Anneng, have launched "photovoltaic loan" related products and services.
The collective entry of giants has made the controversial "photovoltaic loan" the focus again.
A reporter from Beiqing Daily found that, taking LONGi Green Energy as an example, under their new service model, large banks that are guaranteed by LONGi will provide loan services for users to purchase LONGi's photovoltaic power generation equipment, and LONGi will continue to provide technical support, Component supply and margin.
In order to ensure the safety and reliability of the quality of the power station, the installer will go through layers of screening to ensure compliance with the company's standard requirements.
Jinko Technology said that in the cooperation with the bank, the company will provide guarantees to protect the benefits of users during the whole life cycle of the power station.
The selection of agents will be checked at every level to ensure the safety and reliability of the whole process.
In addition to photovoltaic giants, various banks have adopted various methods to protect the rights and interests of farmers in "photovoltaic loan" products.
Taking "Industrial Photovoltaic Loan" as an example, on the one hand, Industrial Bank will strictly control the cooperative enterprises, not only giving preferential prices for the purchase of photovoltaic panels, but also ensuring the quality of equipment and post-maintenance services.
At the same time, it reviews the terms of the cooperative enterprise's power station sales and operation and maintenance agreements to protect the rights and interests of consumers; on the other hand, Industrial Bank conducts closed management of power generation income funds to protect the reasonable rights and interests of farmers and reduce the risk of loan default.
Perhaps, when leading companies and major banks join hands to enter, it will effectively reduce the current chaos in the photovoltaic loan market.
Text/Coordinator Cheng Jie, our reporter/Chi Haibo