Installer Resources

Most of the loan applications we receive are instantly pre-approved via the online portal’s underwriting algorithms. For any loans that aren’t instantly pre-approved, it is likely because the member included additional income on their loan application. The portal automatically flags applications with additional income for manual review by our underwriters. If the application needs to be manually reviewed, the time it takes for the loan to get to the pre-approval stage depends on how quickly our underwriters get the requested documents from the member. If your customer’s loan application is taking longer than expected to be pre-approved, please know that Clean Energy Credit Union is working diligently to find any way possible to pre-approve or even fully approve the loan. For any questions or concerns, you can reach our lending team via chat or phone: 720-479-7900.

The time it takes to go from pre-approval to full approval depends largely on how quickly the member uploads the required documents to the blueprint portal. It also depends on their attentiveness to our correspondence through email, blueprint portal messaging, and phone calls. Typically the loan can get held up during the verification of income or the membership/ID Pal identity verification process. If the member has any trouble, we are available via chat and phone at 720-479-7900 for any questions. You can also direct them to resources featured above in the applicant resources section of this page. This section features instruction documents and tutorial videos of our loan process and membership application.

We highly recommend waiting until the loan has been fully approved to ensure the project will be funded by Clean Energy Credit Union. After your customer has submitted the required documents and taken the necessary steps as shown in our loan instructions document, our underwriters will then be able to make a decision on the loan. The reason we recommend waiting is there is at least some risk that your customer may not provide the verification of income documents required, or sometimes they may choose to delay in establishing their membership with Clean Energy Credit Union, etc.

Yes, a Customer must pay a loan processing fee of $150 per loan that is closed. If you are using our combo loan, which consists of a short-term loan and a long-term loan, a $150 loan processing fee will be charged for each. Additionally, there is a UCC-1 lien filing fee. Currently, the UCC-1 filing fee is either $100 or $250 (or $350 in CA, FL, IL, MD, TN, and PA) – depending on the state and county where the installation is taking place. These fee amounts are subject to change. For a list of all of our rates and fees, please visit: https://www.cleanenergycu.org/rates-and-fees/

Payment terms are net 15 starting from when Clean Energy Credit Union approves the required documents. For example, using our combo loan, once the loan as been fully approved and installation has commenced, please send us your invoice for the first 30%. Upon receiving the invoice, Clean Energy CU will disburse 30% of funds within 15 days. To receive the remaining 70% of funds, please send us an invoice and the final project documents. Upon approving the final project documents, we will disburse the remaining 70% of funds within 15 days as long as installation has been completed. If our single loan is being used, the payment timeline will remain the same as the combo loan, however, the amounts will be 50% at each disbursement. For any single disbursement loan products such as; our GHI, long-term only, or short-term only, 100% of the funds will be disbursed within 15 days of Clean Energy CU approving the final project documents as long as installation has been completed. When disbursing funds, ACH transfers or a check will be sent to the contractor within 24-48 hours of the customers signing their loan documents. Loan documents are sent to customers both by email and text every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until they are signed.

No, the solar PV system loans are secured solely by the project equipment. However, Clean Energy Credit Union conducts a UCC-1 filing at both the State and County level.

Up to 45% of a solar PV loan proceeds can be used to finance non-solar PV, “mission-aligned project scope” items such as:

• Electric Vehicle  Chargers
• Roofs – Roofing requests must be reviewed by Clean Energy CU prior to approval. A list of rated materials can be found at this website: https://coolroofs.org/directory/roof.
• Heat Pumps
• SPAN/Smart Panel
• Other Eligible Products – See our list of Eligible Products for all qualifying items.

Included in this 45% limit, up to $4,000 can be use for other “ancillary costs” if they are necessary for the effective installation and operation of the solar PV system. These can be items such as:

• Main service panel upgrade
• Minor roof repairs – such as roof vent rerouting, rafter upgrades, ect.
• Tree trimming
• For any other items you may have questions on, please reach out to dealers@cleanenergycu.org

For project scope that may exceed the 45% limit, or for batteries-only projects (e.g. adding batteries to a previously installed solar PV system), these may be financed via a green home improvement loan (which would be separate from the solar PV system loan). Please see the graphic below which helps illustrate the 45% limit versus the $4,000 limit.

Example: If you’re utilizing a $50,000 solar PV loan, that means up to $22,500 (45%) can be used for other qualifying items. The $4,000 ancillary costs would be a part of the $22,500 “Scope Flexibility” allowance.

What documentation does the credit union need to approve the “mission-aligned project scope” and/or the “ancillary costs?”

• The borrower’s purchase/installation contract should include an itemized list of costs for the solar PV work scope versus all other work scopes, equipment, etc. It should include sufficient descriptions (e.g. Equipment manufacturer and model, description of each task/service, etc.) and be self-explanatory in complying with the requirements described above.