Can a factory get 100% finance for rooftop solar?

Not on the captive schemes we checked. SBI's Surya Shakti scheme sets a minimum borrower contribution of 20% for captive projects and states that deviation is not permitted; Indian Bank's IND-SURYA SHAKTI asks for 25% on the cost of equipment and erection. Both were read on 27 September 2026 and terms change, so re-check before you budget. Treat any offer of 100% bank finance, or of a solar plant that needs nothing from you at all, as a claim to verify in writing rather than a term you can plan around. The separate case where you genuinely pay no plant CAPEX is the investor-funded RESCO model — and there you are not borrowing, you are signing a power purchase agreement with its own obligations.

What contribution will a bank expect from me?

On the two published captive schemes we read: 20% minimum of project cost under SBI Surya Shakti for captive use, with deviation not permitted, and 25% on equipment and erection charges under Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI. Expect security as well as contribution — typically hypothecation of the financed assets plus a lien or mortgage over the land and building the plant stands on, and often personal guarantees from directors. The lender sets all of this against your credit standing, not against the solar design, so two companies buying the identical plant can be offered different terms.

Is Secured Engineers a finance partner of these banks?

SEPL is not a lender and is not presented here as a partner of any bank. We help you assemble the technical documentation a lender asks for — system design, BOQ, generation estimate and commissioning evidence. The loan decision, the contribution and the terms are the lender's.

Do you offer zero-upfront solar?

Investor-funded models exist in the market, where a developer owns the plant and you buy its output under a PPA. SEPL can review whether your project suits one and what it would require. Availability and terms depend on the project and on the investor — this is an enquiry, not an offer.

I am building a new factory and have no electricity bills yet. Can you still assess it?

Yes, and you should not be asked for bills you cannot have. For a greenfield or under-construction plant we work from the planned connected load and sanctioned load you have applied for, the intended shift pattern and operating hours, the roof or shed drawings with their orientation and spans, the site stage, and who the sponsoring company is. That is enough to size a plant and to show you what the finance arithmetic looks like. What it cannot do is establish finance eligibility — a lender assesses the borrower, and a new entity with no operating history is assessed differently from an established unit. We will tell you that plainly rather than let you assume the loan is a formality.

Does enquiring here start a loan application or a credit check?

No. Submitting the form is an enquiry to SEPL and nothing else. It does not start a credit check, it is not a loan application, and it is not an approval. We do not submit applications to banks on your behalf, and we never submit one to several banks at once — multiple simultaneous enquiries can themselves affect how a lender sees you. If you later want us to support a specific lender's application, that is a separate conversation with your explicit consent, and any document collection happens over a secure channel, not through this form.

What is the difference between OPEX, RESCO and a PPA?

They describe one arrangement from three angles. RESCO names the party — a renewable energy service company that funds and owns the plant. OPEX describes how it lands in your accounts: an operating expense per unit rather than a capital asset. PPA is the contract you actually sign, the power purchase agreement that fixes the tariff, the term, any escalation and what happens at the end. When someone offers you any of the three, the document to read is the PPA: the tariff escalation clause and the transfer clause decide whether the deal is good, and a headline rate below your grid tariff does not by itself make it so.

Solar finance

Planning solar? Discuss finance options with SEPL.

Request a project-specific review of bank-financed ownership and investor-funded alternatives. Availability, borrower contribution and terms depend on project assessment and the lender or investor.

Request a solar finance assessment

SEPL is an EPC contractor, not a lender. We do not decide eligibility, set terms or approve credit.

CAPEX, bank loan or OPEX

Three ways to pay for it — and the one that suits you is a finance question, not a solar one

The engineering is identical in all three. What changes is who puts up the capital, who owns the asset, who carries the O&M, and who keeps the savings.

CAPEX

You own the plant

You fund it, you own the asset, and every rupee it saves stays with you.

Depreciation: Accelerated depreciation at 40% WDV in year one. On a typical corporate tax rate that is roughly 10–12% of project cost back as a year-one tax saving — confirm your own position with your CA.
Savings: You keep 100% of the generation. Nothing is shared with a developer.
Payback: Typically 3–6 years for C&I rooftop at a healthy tariff. Yours depends on your blended tariff, region and roof — the calculator gives your number, not an average.
Asset: A 25-year asset on your balance sheet, with the loan (if any) usually clear inside 5–7.

Trade-off: You fund the capital and carry the O&M.

Compare on lifetime rupees

BANK-FINANCED OWNERSHIP

You own it, a bank funds most of it

A lender funds the bulk of the plant against a contribution from you. You still own the asset at the end.

Your contribution: Not zero — this is the number most often misstated. The published captive schemes we checked want 20–25% of project cost: SBI Surya Shakti sets 20% minimum for captive projects and states deviation is not permitted; Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI asks 25% on equipment and erection. Read 27 Sep 2026 — re-check before you budget on it.
Security: Expect the financed assets hypothecated, plus a lien or mortgage over the land and building the plant stands on. Personal guarantees from directors are common.
Tenure: Commonly 10–15 years door-to-door including any moratorium, which is what lets the EMI sit below the monthly saving on a healthy tariff. Whether it actually does is arithmetic, not a promise — the EMI calculator uses your numbers.
Who decides: The lender, not us. SEPL prepares the technical pack it asks for — system design, BOQ, generation estimate and commissioning evidence. We do not assess your credit, submit applications on your behalf, or promise a sanction.

Trade-off: You take on a repayment obligation and the O&M, and the lender takes security over the building.

Test it against your own EMI

OPEX / RESCO / PPA

You buy the output

An investor or developer builds and owns the plant on your roof, and you buy the units it makes. This is how the model works in the market — whether a given project qualifies is a question for assessment, not a standing SEPL offer.

Capital: No upfront plant CAPEX from you, and the plant stays off your balance sheet. That is not the same as free — you take on a PPA with a tariff, a term, and usually a minimum-consumption or deemed-generation obligation.
Tariff: A per-unit rate agreed in the contract, normally below your current DISCOM tariff. Check the escalation clause — it decides the deal.
Risk: Performance and O&M sit with the developer for the contract term.
End of term: Read the transfer clause carefully. Some contracts hand you the asset; others do not.

Trade-off: Smaller saving, usually more total cost than owning across 25 years, and you give a third party rights over your roof for the term.

Model a PPA offer you've been sent

Planning solar? Discuss finance options with SEPL.

Request a project-specific review of bank-financed ownership and investor-funded alternatives. Availability, borrower contribution and terms depend on project assessment and the lender or investor.

Request a solar finance assessment

Published borrower contribution on the captive solar schemes we checked (2026-09-27): State Bank of India Surya Shakti Solar Finance — 20% minimum for captive projects, with deviation not permitted; 25% minimum for other-than-captive; Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI — 25% on the cost of the equipment and erection charges. SEPL is an EPC contractor, not a lender — we are not presented here as a partner of any bank, and the loan decision is the lender's.

Want to see what a real proposal looks like before you talk to anyone?

We'll send a worked 500 kWp commercial example — layout, BOQ structure, generation model and the full CAPEX-versus-PPA comparison. A sample, not a quote for your site.

Request sample 500 kWp ROI proposal

Figures above are indicative and depend on your tariff, region, roof and tax position. Tax treatment changes — confirm depreciation and input-credit specifics with your CA before you commit. We put the assumptions on screen rather than in a footnote.

What the published bank schemes actually require

These are the banks' own published terms for captive industrial solar, read on the date shown. They are listed because they are the reason no honest page can promise you full funding — not because SEPL is presented as a partner of any of them. Terms change; re-check before you budget.

Scheme	Your minimum contribution	Ceiling	Tenure	Security
State Bank of India — Surya Shakti Solar Finance read 2026-09-27	20% minimum for captive projects, with deviation not permitted; 25% minimum for other-than-captive	Up to ₹10 crore (captive); up to ₹50 crore (other than captive)	Up to 10 years captive, up to 15 years other-than-captive, including moratorium	Hypothecation of assets created out of bank finance, plus a negative lien on the factory land and building the system sits on
Indian Bank — IND-SURYA SHAKTI read 2026-09-27	25% on the cost of the equipment and erection charges	No ceiling stated	Door-to-door 15 years, with a 6-month moratorium for rooftop projects	Financed assets as primary security, mortgage of the property the plant sits on as collateral, and personal guarantees from partners or directors

A bank publishing a solar loan is evidence that the product exists. It is not evidence that any contractor is empanelled with that bank, and we make no such claim. Links go to each bank's own page so you can read the current terms yourself.

What we do, and what we do not

We do size the plant, produce the BOQ, model generation and prepare the technical pack a lender or investor asks for.
We do read a PPA or loan sheet you have been sent and tell you what the escalation and transfer clauses mean in rupees.
We do not lend, assess your credit, or promise a sanction.
We do not submit applications on your behalf, and never to several banks at once.
We do not claim a partnership with a bank or investor we cannot show you in writing.

What we ask at first contact

Your name and one way to reach you
Where the site is
Whether it is operating or being built
Which of the three routes you want reviewed — or that you do not know yet

Useful later, all optional

Approximate monthly bill, or the planned connected load if the plant is new
Roof or shed area, and whether you own or lease the roof rights
A target capacity, if you have one in mind
Project stage and the timeline you are working to

Never asked on this site

Aadhaar or PAN
Bank statements or financial statements
An OTP, password or card detail
Anything that would trigger a credit enquiry

Run your own numbers before you talk to anyone

Both calculators put the assumptions on screen. For a loan, set the contribution to what the scheme actually requires rather than to zero — the default is 20% for that reason. For a PPA, the figure that matters is not the headline tariff but what you still pay the grid alongside it.

Solar EMI, with contribution and tenure CAPEX versus OPEX over 25 years

Request a solar finance assessment

Tell us where the site is and what stage it is at. We will come back with the routes worth reviewing for that project and what each would need from you.

Submitting this form is an enquiry. It is not a loan application, it does not start a credit check, and it is not an approval. SEPL is an EPC contractor, not a lender, and does not decide eligibility or terms.

Questions buyers actually ask

Can a factory get 100% finance for rooftop solar?: Not on the captive schemes we checked. SBI's Surya Shakti scheme sets a minimum borrower contribution of 20% for captive projects and states that deviation is not permitted; Indian Bank's IND-SURYA SHAKTI asks for 25% on the cost of equipment and erection. Both were read on 27 September 2026 and terms change, so re-check before you budget. Treat any offer of 100% bank finance, or of a solar plant that needs nothing from you at all, as a claim to verify in writing rather than a term you can plan around. The separate case where you genuinely pay no plant CAPEX is the investor-funded RESCO model — and there you are not borrowing, you are signing a power purchase agreement with its own obligations.
What contribution will a bank expect from me?: On the two published captive schemes we read: 20% minimum of project cost under SBI Surya Shakti for captive use, with deviation not permitted, and 25% on equipment and erection charges under Indian Bank IND-SURYA SHAKTI. Expect security as well as contribution — typically hypothecation of the financed assets plus a lien or mortgage over the land and building the plant stands on, and often personal guarantees from directors. The lender sets all of this against your credit standing, not against the solar design, so two companies buying the identical plant can be offered different terms.
Is Secured Engineers a finance partner of these banks?: SEPL is not a lender and is not presented here as a partner of any bank. We help you assemble the technical documentation a lender asks for — system design, BOQ, generation estimate and commissioning evidence. The loan decision, the contribution and the terms are the lender's.
Do you offer zero-upfront solar?: Investor-funded models exist in the market, where a developer owns the plant and you buy its output under a PPA. SEPL can review whether your project suits one and what it would require. Availability and terms depend on the project and on the investor — this is an enquiry, not an offer.
I am building a new factory and have no electricity bills yet. Can you still assess it?: Yes, and you should not be asked for bills you cannot have. For a greenfield or under-construction plant we work from the planned connected load and sanctioned load you have applied for, the intended shift pattern and operating hours, the roof or shed drawings with their orientation and spans, the site stage, and who the sponsoring company is. That is enough to size a plant and to show you what the finance arithmetic looks like. What it cannot do is establish finance eligibility — a lender assesses the borrower, and a new entity with no operating history is assessed differently from an established unit. We will tell you that plainly rather than let you assume the loan is a formality.
Does enquiring here start a loan application or a credit check?: No. Submitting the form is an enquiry to SEPL and nothing else. It does not start a credit check, it is not a loan application, and it is not an approval. We do not submit applications to banks on your behalf, and we never submit one to several banks at once — multiple simultaneous enquiries can themselves affect how a lender sees you. If you later want us to support a specific lender's application, that is a separate conversation with your explicit consent, and any document collection happens over a secure channel, not through this form.
What is the difference between OPEX, RESCO and a PPA?: They describe one arrangement from three angles. RESCO names the party — a renewable energy service company that funds and owns the plant. OPEX describes how it lands in your accounts: an operating expense per unit rather than a capital asset. PPA is the contract you actually sign, the power purchase agreement that fixes the tariff, the term, any escalation and what happens at the end. When someone offers you any of the three, the document to read is the PPA: the tariff escalation clause and the transfer clause decide whether the deal is good, and a headline rate below your grid tariff does not by itself make it so.