Photovoltaic installation loan
Borrow for a new solar installation and associated storage at your exclusively owner-occupied home in Hessen, with a state interest subsidy.
Beskrivningen av den här finansieringen finns för närvarande på engelska.
Finance the first purchase and installation of a photovoltaic system of up to 20 kW, including its grid connection. Batteries and controls for using more of your own solar electricity qualify only when installed with a new photovoltaic system.
The loan covers up to 90% of total investment costs, from €10,000 to €50,000 per project, rounded down to whole €100. The term and fixed-interest period are ten years. Hessen reduces the annual interest rate by 1.50 percentage points, with a floor of 0%; the subsidy is offset against quarterly payments. The published nominal rate after subsidy is 3.60% a year as of 1 October 2026. Your rate is determined at approval.
For the first year you pay only interest on money already paid out. Under the guarantee terms, that year runs from the quarter-end following approval. You then repay the loan quarterly at each quarter-end in equal instalments. During the fixed-interest period, full early repayment requires compensation; partial early repayments are excluded.
There is no one-off processing fee. From six months and two banking days after approval, unused loan money incurs a charge of 0.15% per month. Failure to take the agreed loan after signing can also trigger compensation. Other public loans, allowances and grants may be combined where their rules permit, but total funding must not exceed costs.
Eligibility
- You must be a private individual building or owning an exclusively owner-occupied residential property in Hessen. Companies, including civil-law partnerships (GbR), cannot apply; letting any part of the property is generally excluded. The panels must be on that property's land, sized for your electricity demand and used for self-consumption, with only limited surplus fed into the grid.
- Apply before installation starts. Provide at least 10% of total investment costs as liquid own capital: readily available savings or current-account money. Securities, insurance and cryptocurrency count only once liquidated and placed in such an account.
- After all expenses, including this loan's payments, your income calculation must leave at least €150 for the applicant, plus €100 for a jointly liable borrower and €50 per child.
- If you or a co-applicant expect more than two years of retirement during the loan term, demonstrate that you can still repay after a 20% deduction from gross pension for taxes and insurance and after other expenses. Your financial assets—bank balances, securities and life-insurance surrender values—must exceed the requested loan. For three to five retirement years, own capital must cover 20% of the loan amount; for more than five years, 25%. Expected life expectancy at signing should exceed the loan term.
- Under the state-guarantee terms, adequately insure the project against fire, water and storm damage, and the photovoltaic installation against fire, water and natural hazards such as storm and hail. Until the loan is fully repaid, do not sell the installation or its accessories; adverse changes need WIBank's consent. A ground lease must last at least as long as the loan.
WIBank decides within available funding and the guarantee framework; there is no entitlement to approval. The responsible ministry may allow individual exceptions to programme conditions.
How to apply
- Status
- Öppet löpande
- Villkor för ansökningsomgången
- Apply before installation begins. Approval depends on available funds and the guarantee framework. The programme is initially limited to 31 December 2028 and may end earlier by an online announcement.[^c3][^c11][^c18]
Register in the WIBank customer portal and submit the loan application before installation begins. Explicitly request the interest subsidy with the loan. After a positive assessment, WIBank sends the loan contract; upload the signed documents before requesting payment.
Use your own funds and third-party grants first. WIBank pays 100% of the approved loan in at most two instalments: the first against the deposit invoice, the second after completion, with the final invoice and a specialist company's confirmation of acceptance and commissioning. Complete the work promptly and request all loan funds within twelve months of approval; the period for unpaid amounts can be extended to a maximum of 24 months. Lower costs or unused funds reduce the loan and may trigger compensation.
Submit invoices and specialist acceptance to prove the money was used as agreed. Misuse can cause the loan and subsidy agreement to be terminated and money reclaimed, with compensation for damage caused by early termination. Breaching the loan or subsidy conditions can cause partial or full subsidy recovery and stop future subsidy payments; this does not automatically terminate the loan. If the loan is terminated and reclaimed, the subsidy paid since the breach must be repaid.
If the installation is destroyed wholly or partly, restore it within a reasonable period using estimates approved by the guarantor, or use compensation or insurance money to repay the guaranteed loan. Changes or a different use during rebuilding need the lender's consent.
Provide information requested by the state guarantor. Material changes to the building or its use require the guarantor's prior consent.