September 2, 2011 source: Forbes
For homeowners who want to put solar power on their roofs, a scarcity of financing has long been one of the biggest roadblocks. Many consumers simply don't have the upfront cash to shell out some $30,000 for solar on their roof, even if it reduces – or eliminates – their electricity bills for decades.
A new player, Clean Power Finance, hopes to help eliminate the financing bottleneck for residential solar and give many more installers the chance to offer financing to their customers. The 4-year-old company, founded by Match.com founder Gary Kremen, has raised $25 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Google Ventures, Claremont Creek Ventures, Clean Pacific Ventures and Sand Hill Angels.
“The residential-solar market is growing explosively,” said Ben Kortlang, a partner at Kleiner Perkins. “We discovered [Clean Power Finance is] delivering the most powerful set of tools and the most efficient financing in the solar-installer community and enabling the installers to grow. We felt this was a critical pain point for the residential solar industry that Clean Power Finance was solving with its technology and platform.” …
Read the full article at Forbes
Read the related Press Release, Clean Power Finance Receives $25 Million Investment Led By Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Nat Kreamer Joins as New CEO at CleanPowerFinance.com