Climate resilience empowers "Golden Roofs" Zhuhai's first distributed photovoltaic "climate loan" implemented

“Climate Loan” is an innovative financial product where banking institutions incorporate specialized data such as meteorological monitoring and climate risk assessment into project credit approval decision-making. Recently, under the joint promotion of the Zhuhai Branch of the People’s Bank of China and the Zhuhai Meteorological Bureau, Zhuhai’s first distributed photovoltaic “Climate Loan” was successfully implemented, providing a special loan of 2.29 million yuan to a new energy company to support its operations. This move marks a breakthrough in Zhuhai’s integration of “meteorology + finance” innovation, transforming intangible climate resources and disaster prevention capabilities into tangible credit assets, offering a new financial solution for the city’s green low-carbon industry development and corporate climate risk management.

Innovative “Climate Loan + Fee Right Pledge” model to solve the financing difficulties of small and micro green enterprises. The Zhuhai Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) evaluated distributed photovoltaic projects based on the climate-friendly evaluation system of Zhuhai Public Meteorological Service Center. They comprehensively assessed factors such as overall climate disaster risk, regional climate suitability, meteorological disaster defense capacity, and special insurance levels for photovoltaic projects. The projects’ climate-friendly rating was evaluated, and based on the results, the bank provided up to five years of loan support aligned with the project’s operational cycle and cash flow characteristics. Specifically, the financing plan allows for the addition of a pledge on the photovoltaic project’s electricity fee rights, with a dedicated account for electricity fee collection to ensure secure, closed-loop operation. This approach reduces financing barriers while safeguarding credit funds.

Targeted support for industry green transformation. The new energy company is the first beneficiary of ICBC’s “Climate Loan.” The company invested in a 933.35 kWp distributed photovoltaic power generation project occupying 7,787 square meters of factory roof space, adopting a “self-generation and self-use, surplus electricity grid connection” model, with a high actual self-consumption rate of 98.21%. According to the Zhuhai Public Meteorological Service Center’s assessment, the project received a total climate-friendly evaluation score of 87 points, reaching AAA level. Based on this evaluation, Zhuhai Branch of ICBC confirmed that the project qualifies for the “Climate Loan” product. The bank quickly completed credit approval, and based on the evaluation results and the pledge of electricity fee rights, it issued a micro and small enterprise climate loan of 2.29 million yuan to the company, effectively reducing financing costs and helping the enterprise operate more efficiently.

Next, the Zhuhai Branch of the People’s Bank of China will further strengthen collaboration with the Zhuhai Meteorological Bureau, relying on the climate-friendly evaluation system of Zhuhai Public Meteorological Service Center. They will continue to deepen the promotion of “Climate Loan,” optimize product systems and service models, expand the connotations and extensions of green financial innovation, and transform green low-carbon “ecological benefits” into financing “liquid funds.” Through targeted support, they aim to provide green financial backing for more small and micro enterprises in strategic emerging industries, injecting financial vitality into Zhuhai’s high-quality green and low-carbon development.

Text | He Ye Zhou