Renewable energy financial technology innovator CleanFi has been recognized by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for its software solution to accelerate adoption of job-creating, money-saving renewable energy, energy efficiency, storage and building resilience solutions that combat climate change across the small to medium commercial building landscape.
CleanFi is the first FinTech to be recognized as part of the DOE’s multi-million-dollar American-Made Solar Prize competition, which traditionally focuses on hardware and software innovations in support of U.S. based solar manufacturing. It’s the first commercial platform where sub $5 million projects can get instant competitive proposals from a gamut of qualified funders.
CleanFi is a free, easy-to-use Web portal that employs a simple, 120-second process to match specific project improvement inquiries to a bevy of qualified, interested funders. The service is free to contractors, project developers, property managers and building owners across all asset classes interested in clean energy, storage and building resilience improvements. It’s also free to the gamut of qualified funding sources who register for the platform across all 50 states, including traditional commercial lenders, specialty lending, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), capital leases and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Since its inception in July of 2021, CleanFi has delivered more than $230 Million in total project funding options to 400 site subscribers (and growing).
CleanFi’s software innovation addresses two solar growth challenges that exist in today’s commercial building sector. The first is that money-saving solar and efficiency improvements on small and medium commercial industrial buildings lag far behind the residential and large commercial sectors. The second is that commercial lenders have historically focused on larger commercial projects, despite the fact that 90% of America’s six million commercial buildings are less than 50,000 square feet.
“Our solution delivers the first platform where $50,000 to $5 million renewable energy projects can get instant, competing proposals from dozens of qualified lenders,” said CleanFi Founder and CEO Philippe Hartley.
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“The scale of the opportunities CleanFi addresses represents the lion’s share of the 152 GW of untapped commercial solar capacity identified by the global research consultants at Wood Mackenzie,” continued Hartley. “And it’s a project starter for the 10,000 US solar contractors who need help selling into the commercial building sector.”
CleanFi’s 900% growth trajectory demonstrates its ability to deliver an important catalyst for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction across the nation. According to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), fossil fuel combustion attributed to residential and commercial buildings accounts for roughly 29 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions, making CleanFi’s solution for mid-sector commercial building stock a critical component to municipalities’ climate action and GHG reduction objectives as well.