Clean Power Finance, Inc.

Founded in 2007 by Gary Kremen, Clean Power Finance is a San Francisco-based enterprise providing software, financial services, and financing solutions to the United States residential solar industry. Led by Chief Executive Officer Nat Kreamer, the organization offers specialized tools for solar sales, system design, and quoting while managing approximately $1.6 billion in project and loan financing. The platform serves a broad network of solar installers, dealers, and residential consumers, successfully growing to reach an impressive existing customer base of 50,000 users across the nation. The company has received significant venture capital backing from prominent institutional investors, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Google Ventures, and Claremont Creek Ventures. To further expand its market presence and comprehensive service offerings, the enterprise eventually merged with Kilowatt Financial to form a combined entity known as Elevate Power.

High-Level Overview

Clean Power Finance, Inc. (CPF) was a San Francisco-based fintech company in the solar energy sector that built an online business-to-business marketplace to accelerate mass-market adoption of residential solar.[1][2][3] It connected institutional investors with solar professionals—such as marketers, installers, manufacturers, and distributors—by offering white-label financing products like solar leases and power purchase agreements (PPAs), alongside CPF Tools, a SaaS platform for sales quoting, design, and proposal generation to reduce soft costs.[1][2][3] CPF served solar industry players and homeowners seeking solar without upfront ownership costs, solving financing barriers to residential solar deployment; it managed about $500 million in capacity, supported over 100 customers across states like CA, CO, HI, MA, and NJ, raised $76.98M in funding, and powered projects for over 50,000 customers before merging in 2016.[1][2][3]

Origin Story

Founded in 2006 by Gary Kremen, the serial entrepreneur behind Match.com, CPF initially focused on selling CPF Tools software to solar installers and originators for the first five years.[3] Nat Kreamer, who became CEO and board member, brought prior experience as co-founder, President, and COO of SunRun, where he pioneered consumer solar financing ideas.[3][4] Backed by prominent investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, Duke Energy, Edison International, and others, CPF evolved from a tools provider to a full financing marketplace, raising 100% third-party-owned funds from institutions like Morgan Stanley.[2][3] Key early traction came from simplifying sales processes and enabling solar pros in multiple states to access branded finance products, culminating in a 2016 merger with Kilowatt Financial (also Kleiner Perkins-backed) to form Spruce Finance, expanding into efficiency upgrades with over $2B raised and national reach.[1][3]

Core Differentiators

• Integrated Marketplace Model: CPF's CPF Market uniquely linked capital providers (e.g., Google, utilities) with solar pros via transparent, non-exclusive financing funds structured for stable risk-return profiles, marketed as homeowner leases/PPAs.[1][2][3]
• CPF Tools SaaS Platform: Streamlined quoting, design, proposals, and finance processes, minimizing soft costs; used by thousands nationwide and hundreds of pros for sales in key states.[2][3]
• White-Label Flexibility: Solar professionals could brand and sell CPF's third-party-owned products easily, differentiating their businesses without ownership hassles for customers.[1][2]
• Investor and Industry Ties: Strong network with utilities (Duke, Edison), VCs, and leadership roles—e.g., CEO Nat Kreamer as SEIA chairman and White House Champion of Change—boosted credibility and scale.[3]

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

CPF rode the early 2010s residential solar boom, fueled by falling panel costs, state incentives, and consumer demand for clean energy without high upfront capital.[1][2][3] Its timing capitalized on distributed generation (DG) growth, enabling traditional utilities to enter via investments and helping scale solar from niche to mainstream in states like CA and HI.[3] By bridging capital markets with installers, CPF lowered financing barriers—a key market force—driving thousands of projects and influencing ecosystem adoption of leases/PPAs over purchases.[1][2] It shaped fintech in renewables, paving the way for successors like Spruce and inspiring models where software + finance accelerates clean tech deployment amid rising climate pressures.[1][3]

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Clean Power Finance no longer operates independently, having merged into Spruce Finance in 2016, but its legacy endures in residential solar financing norms and tools still echoed in today's platforms.[1][3] Spruce has likely evolved amid surging solar demand, battery integration, and IRA incentives, potentially expanding into broader home electrification. Trends like AI-optimized energy management, utility-scale storage pairings, and global net-zero pushes will shape descendants' paths, amplifying CPF's early influence on mass clean energy access. This fintech pioneer proved financing unlocks renewables at scale, a model now central to the $1T+ clean energy transition.