How the Colorado Clean Energy Fund ClearPath Loan Works

Most Colorado homeowners discover ClearPath the same way: a contractor mentions it near the end of an estimate, right before the price tag usually kills the conversation. You hear “no credit check, no money down,” and your first reaction is probably some version of “what’s the catch?”

There isn’t one. ClearPath On-Bill is a new financing program from the Colorado Clean Energy Fund that lets Xcel Energy customers pay for home energy upgrades directly through their monthly utility bill. The program soft-launched in May 2026, and it’s the first on-bill financing program Xcel Energy has ever offered. Almost no homeowner-focused explainer exists yet, which is exactly why your contractor brought it up before you’d ever heard of it.

Here’s what ClearPath actually means for your wallet: a $20,000 heat pump project, after Xcel rebates, becomes roughly $165 per month on your existing Xcel bill. No separate lender. No separate payment. No lien on your home. 

If you’ve been watching rebate numbers stack up on paper but couldn’t figure out where the cash comes from to cover the rest of the project cost, ClearPath changes that math entirely.

What Is the Colorado Clean Energy Fund ClearPath Program?

ClearPath is an on-bill financing program from the Colorado Clean Energy Fund that lets Xcel customers pay for home energy upgrades through their utility bill. Instead of taking out a loan, you add a small monthly charge to your existing Xcel bill until the upgrade is paid off. The structure is designed to make qualifying easier than any traditional lender would allow.

The Colorado Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) is Colorado’s official state green bank, a nonprofit investment fund founded in 2018. CCEF’s mission is to fill financial gaps for clean energy projects that private lenders underserve, including residential upgrades for households with limited credit access, affordable housing communities, and disadvantaged communities across Colorado. 

Helping the state reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its housing stock is central to CCEF’s work. ClearPath is CCEF’s newest product, and it’s a genuinely different kind of financing. This is the first on-bill financing program Xcel Energy has offered, approved by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission in 2025 and soft-launched in May 2026.

ClearPath Program Terms Worth Knowing

The terms are straightforward. ClearPath rates range from 4.5% to 5.49%, depending on the term you choose (3, 5, 7, or 10 years). There’s a $50,000 project cap per premises. No money down. No credit check.

Those aren’t teaser terms; they’re the actual program structure.

One thing worth clarifying early: ClearPath and the RENU Loan are two different CCEF products.

• RENU covers solar and requires a credit check (FICO 580-plus).
• ClearPath covers home performance upgrades and doesn’t. If a contractor mentioned both, you’re looking at two distinct programs from the same fund.

To see how Xcel rebates support these upgrades, the Xcel Whole Home Efficiency rebate guide runs through the full rebate stack in detail.

ClearPath is the first time most Colorado homeowners can finance a major home energy upgrade through their utility bill, with no money down and no credit check. That changes everything about who can afford to upgrade.

How ClearPath Works Through Your Xcel Bill

ClearPath attaches the financing obligation to your Xcel meter, not to you personally. Think of it like a special assessment tied to a property: the charge lives on the utility account, not on your credit profile. That framing is what makes the no-credit-check structure possible, and it’s why energy efficiency financing through ClearPath reaches households that traditional lenders routinely turn away.

Here’s how the process works, start to finish:

1. You and your contractor design the project. Your authorized contractor submits it through the OneEthos portal on your behalf.
2. CCEF reviews the application using your Xcel bill-pay history, not your FICO score. Consistent bill-pay history is the primary qualifier.
3. CCEF approves the project and pays your contractor upfront. You never have to calculate the full project cost yourself.
4. A monthly tariff is added to your existing Xcel bill for the agreed term. One bill now covers both your electricity and your upgrade payment.

How the Payment Works

The monthly tariff is fixed at the time of approval. It doesn’t fluctuate with market rates. You know the exact payment for the entire term from day one, which makes ClearPath far more predictable than most long term financing options.

A few questions homeowners ask most: 

• What if I sell the house? The tariff can transfer to the next occupant through a county-recorded disclosure. There’s no lien on your home, but the obligation follows the meter.
• What if I miss a payment? Missed payments fall under Xcel’s standard collection process, with a 90-day workout period administered by CCEF before any disconnection action. Prepayment is allowed at any time with no penalty.

Because the payment appears on your utility bill and the obligation is tied to your meter, ClearPath is simpler and more flexible than a traditional home improvement loan. There’s no separate bill to track down each month, and no home equity at risk.

What You Can and Can’t Finance With ClearPath

ClearPath is designed for home performance and electrification upgrades. If your project makes your home tighter, more efficient, or electrically powered, you’re almost certainly in scope.

Eligible measures include:

• Air-source and cold-climate heat pumps.
• Heat pump water heaters.
• Insulation (attic, walls, and basement).
• Air sealing throughout the building envelope.
• Tuck-under and crawlspace work.
• Electrical panel upgrades.
• Certain HVAC equipment.

One detail that surprises many homeowners: tuck-under spaces and crawlspaces have historically been hard to finance through conventional lenders because they don’t add finished square footage. ClearPath covers them. For older Denver bungalows, where the crawlspace accounts for most heat loss, that’s a genuine breakthrough. If cold-climate heat pumps are part of your plan, Colorado heat pump installation paired with ClearPath is one of the most cost-effective paths available right now.

What ClearPath Does Not Cover

Three categories fall outside the program, and knowing them upfront saves a frustrating surprise mid-project.

• Solar PV (RENU is the right CCEF product for solar).
• Standalone battery storage without pre-existing solar.
• New construction.

The solar exclusion is the most important one to know upfront. If you’re bundling a heat pump with solar, you’d run the heat pump through ClearPath and the solar through RENU. Homeowners who also qualify for income-based programs should check whether the Colorado HEAR rebate program stacks on top, since HEAR and ClearPath can sometimes cover the same project from different angles.

Xcel Rebates are floated before your financed balance is set. That means you only finance the post-rebate cost, which is typically 40-60% of the original project price. Cold-climate heat pumps with $7,000 or more in Xcel rebates pair especially well with ClearPath because the rebate brings the financed balance down sharply before you sign anything.

ClearPath is built for envelope upgrades and electrification, not solar. If your project is a heat pump, insulation, air sealing, or anything in the home performance category, you’re in scope.

The 40-60% Financed Math and What It Costs Per Month

A $20,000 heat pump project through ClearPath becomes roughly $165 per month. Here’s exactly how that math works.

A Heat Pump Scenario

Start with a 3-ton cold-climate heat pump installation in Denver. Installed cost: approximately $20,000. Xcel Whole Home Efficiency rebates can reduce the project price by $7,312, including the 25% bonus that activates when you complete three qualifying upgrades. Add the Colorado state heat pump tax credit of $1,000. Your net project cost drops to roughly $11,688.

Finance $11,688 through ClearPath at 5% APR over 7 years: about $165 per month on your existing Xcel bill. For most Denver households, that’s less than the average monthly gas bill during heating season.

A Whole-Home Scenario

For a comprehensive retrofit that combines a cold-climate heat pump, a heat pump water heater, insulation, and air sealing, the total project cost might be $30,000.

After Xcel rebates and the state tax credit, the net financed amount drops to roughly $18,350. At 5% over 10 years: about $199 per month.

Here’s what most homeowners miss in the math: you’re not adding that payment on top of your existing energy costs. You’re replacing them. Colorado homeowners who switch from a gas furnace to a cold-climate heat pump typically cut heating costs by 30-50%. With Xcel’s rising rates in 2026 adding to monthly bills, locking in an efficient system now makes the financial case stronger than it was even a year ago.

Most homeowners using ClearPath finance 40-60% of the total project. Xcel rebates cover the rest. That ratio is built into the program design, not a special circumstance.

How ClearPath Compares to RENU HEAR and HELOCs

ClearPath is the cheapest home energy financing available to most Colorado homeowners right now. Here’s how it stacks up against every other option you’re likely to hear about.

Options at a Glance

The table below covers the five financing paths Colorado homeowners typically encounter for energy upgrade projects.

A few things worth knowing before you decide:

• The RENU Loan is also a CCEF product, offered through Elevations Credit Union at 6.99-11.36% APR. It covers solar, which ClearPath doesn’t. Homeowners who want a heat pump and solar panels would typically pair both CCEF programs into a single project.
• HEAR (Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates) is a rebate, not a loan. It offers up to $14,000 for income-qualified households and is administered by the Colorado Energy Office. The Region 1 Front Range window closed April 28, 2026, so check current availability before counting on it.
• HELOC rates currently run 8-10% or higher, require home equity, and tap directly into it. For homeowners with substantial equity who want flexibility across all project types, a HELOC has its place. For most others, ClearPath is much cheaper.

Dealer financing through programs like Sunlight, GoodLeap, or Mosaic typically runs 8-15% APR with fees baked into the equipment price. ClearPath’s 4.5-5.49% is a meaningful difference on a $10,000-plus project. CCEF financing gives Colorado homeowners access to green capital at rates that competing lenders can’t match for this project type.

ClearPath is also the only option available to homeowners with credit challenges or no home equity. If you want to look at the full picture of what electrifying your Colorado home actually looks like before committing to a program, an authorized contractor can show you how every incentive layer fits together.

The right next step for most homeowners is a home energy audit with an authorized ClearPath contractor who can run the exact rebate-plus-financing numbers for your specific home and project scope.

Start With an Audit and Run the Numbers

ClearPath On-Bill is the only financing program that gives most Colorado homeowners access to low-rate renewable energy improvements without a credit check or home equity requirement. At 4.5-5.49%, with payments on the same bill you already pay each month, the $20,000 heat pump projects become genuinely affordable for middle-income households.

REenergizeCO is an authorized ClearPath contractor with over 15 years of experience helping Denver-area homeowners maximize Xcel rebates and complete clean energy transition upgrades. Every project we complete moves Colorado closer to a clean energy future, one home at a time. We handle the application, run the rebate math, and know the ClearPath process inside and out.

Schedule your home energy audit to find out which ClearPath-eligible upgrades fit your home, what your Xcel rebates would cover, and what your actual monthly payment would look like before you commit to anything.