MN: What did you learn from owning websites and the Internet boom that applies to financing of solar and renewable energy?

GK: I realized that the domain name world is real estate world, not a technology world. One thing you learn to focus on is the big markets. However you slice it, energy is a big market. Renewables -- and solar especially -- is as big as the Internet if not bigger. I learned to focus on a good wave that is going far and sticking with it. The Internet was a good wave for 15 years, and maybe for another 5 to 10 years. Part of this wave is doing a land grab, which is what the company SolarCity is doing in the branding of solar in the consumer space. There was no one with a brand there, and I'm surprised it took someone so long to do it.

MN: Why did you choose to create a company focused on financing of renewable energy instead of investing in energy production or some other aspect?

GK: Even though the name is CleanPowerFinance, we are more than just a finance company. We consider ourselves sales support services for installers. We have bidding and provisioning software and lead generation software. It's an old saying that if there's a gold rush, you want to be the one selling shovels. I think being involved in production is like trying to mine the gold, and I'd rather sell the shovels. You are better off selling products and services to those who are doing the mining.

MN: What do you see as the void in the available financial and marketing services that you are filling?

GK: Installers are good at what they do, but financing and marketing is not their area of expertise. Instead of working with a bank where they hand things off and then don't hear anything more, we are keeping the installer informed at every step of the way. A bank can only sell the product that they have, and we are just focused on products optimized for solar; the "secret sauce" that reduces the mandatory cost of purchasing solar.

MN: How do you find customers to get them interested in being matched up with installers?

GK: From the lending side we get our leads from installers. To find consumers, we use traditional Internet tools including lead generation, search engine optimization, Google AdWords, and affiliate programs. These things are used in mortgage industry.

MN: What is unique about the financing programs for solar today, and what types of programs are missing to make it easier for customers?

GK: Banks are not giving credit for solar and other renewable energy sources' main attribute, which is reducing the mandatory monthly expenses. If you have two houses, one in Portland and one in San Diego, they might have very different energy bills, but lending agreements are being undewritten as if their energy expense is exactly the same. As energy costs increase, that liability is going to get larger. In some places like the central valley of California an energy bill -- which is not tax deductible -- can be higher on a tax-equivalency basis than the entire mortgage. Was that taken into account when the loan was written? No. If a $50,000 investment in renewable energy is sized right, then it should be cash positive over the life of the loan. We have looked around to find banks that will take that into consideration. Installers also need to do a better job of marketing the financial benefits. We are giving installers the tools so that they can talk with customers about what their after-tax monthly payments will be.

MN: What is your business model for generating revenue?

GK: We make money in two ways, one on the lead generation, such as $5 for an unqualified lead or $60 for a qualified lead. If there's a sale, the fee could be 1-2 percent of the closed order. On the loan side there is an origination fee based on the value of the loan; we would receive about 1 percent, or about $300 on a $30,000 loan. We also get licensing fees for licensing our software to installers.

MN: How do you compare the hype factor around the renewable energy space today versus the hype that went on during the Internet boom?

GK: If you compare the renewable energy space today, it's not as sexy as the Internet is. You can't brag at a cocktail party about the cool widget that someone can go look at online, or a food delivery service for pets. A lot of the technology surrounding renewables is evolutionary, not revolutionary. On the PV (photovoltaics) side, we'll get better efficiency in the one-half to one percent range, but I don't think we are going to have any great leaps. The hype of doubling efficiency of solar panels just isn't going to happen.

MN:What is necessary to change in the marketing of renewable energy for it to become a meaningful component of our energy equation?

GK: First it must go from hippies selling solar to save the planet to a purely economic basis. The second thing is that installers have to realize that they are in the sales business not in the technology business. I have seen many installers come in and talk about the technology, but consumers don't care about that, it's ridiculous. They should have proposals with lots of graphics to make it easy to understand -- the sales process doesn't shine today, and it should. Every solar installer should take a two month leave and go sell cars, which similarly is mostly about financing. Some think their products sell themselves, and they don't. MN:Is there a bubble occurring in the current rush of investment for renewable venture capital?

GK: I think there is going to be a pullback. Not all of these PV ventures can win. There will be winners and losers. Some of them are ill thought out, like solar concentrators. If you spend anytime in Silicon Valley, you see that the white boys follow each other around on Sand Hill Road. They hear about others investing in solar, and they want to do it too.

MN: Why are so many investment companies that previously backed Internet startups now investing in renewable energy?

GK: Now people see a shift. There's been $3 billion in investment, energy costs are rising, consumers don't want fossil fuel based power plants. A lot of them are going to stumble because they are investing in project financing companies instead of technology companies. There are 8 or 9 companies in the PPA (power purchase agreement) funding area, and they aren't all going to make it. These companies' business model is to offer a business deal where they sell the energy for some period of time instead of the utility, and they will own the production plant. Examples are SunEdison, SunRun Generation, MMA Renewable Ventures. The market isn't big enough to support all of these players, and large customers aren't idiots and they will think that they can do it better themselves.

MN: What other financing models will evolve in the renewable energy area?

GK: The city of Berkeley is going to allow people to finance solar through tax assessment on their property. On the surface it seems smart, but it may be bad for (my company). What also makes sense is for local governments to guarantee loans for solar equipment or doing credit enhancements. Solar subsidies and tax incentives are too expensive to be continued for the long term.