Clean Energy Collective Overview
Expert Score: 3.5/5
Founded in: 2009
Clean Energy Collective, established in 2009, has been an active participant in the solar industry, providing services across 4 states. We dug into what Clean Energy Collective offers, how customers actually feel about working with them, and where they stand in the industry to give you the straight story for your solar decision.
Clean Energy Collective’s Offerings at a Glance:
- Customer experience: Reviews average out to 3.5, painting a picture that includes both satisfied customers and those with concerns.
- Service range: Along with solar-related work, covering most of what homeowners need, Clean Energy Collective handles Community Solar Platform (CSP): This software solution allowed cooperative members to calculate energy production and monthly credits. It also included a smartphone application for easy access. Community Solar Gardens: CEC developed, operated, and maintained centralized solar arrays where community members could purchase solar panels. Participants received credits on their electric bills for the electricity generated by their panels. Partnerships with Local Utilities: CEC partnered with various local utilities to facilitate the integration of community solar projects. Long-term Loans for Solar Investments: In collaboration with financial institutions, CEC offered long-term loans to consumers and businesses investing in community-owned solar gardens.
- Web traffic and visibility: Their site attracts roughly 562 monthly visits, showing a Positive growth trend and indicating where things are headed.
- Coverage area: Operating in CO,MA,NM,VT. Clean Energy Collective is actively expanding solar system installations across various markets.
- Certifications and licenses: They maintain the standard certifications you’d expect – NABCEP. The BBB has them rated at A-, which factors into how they stack up professionally.
Deciding whether Clean Energy Collective fits your needs depends on weighing their track record against some of the mixed feedback available. Getting the full picture requires digging into the details. Our breakdown comes from 10 sources to help you decide if Clean Energy Collective is the right fit for your solar project.
Independent Sources
Clean Energy Collective Reviews
| 🔗 Source | Votes | Average Score |
|---|---|---|
| energysage.com | No reviews | No reviews |
| solarreviews.com | 1 | 3.75 |
| yelp.com | 4 | 3.5 |
| bbb.org | 1 | 1.00 |
| consumeraffairs.com | No reviews | No reviews |
| indeed.com | 9 | 2.6 |
| trustpilot.com | No reviews | No reviews |
| angi.com | No reviews | No reviews |
| birdeye.com | 38 | 3.8 |
| Google reviews | 7 | 3.1 |
| Expert Score | 3.5 |
Learn more: What Made Us Choose Sources for Expert Score?
Based on Company Info
Clean Energy Collective Reviews
| Company Website | cleanenergycollective.com |
| Year Founded | 2009 |
| Areas Served | CO,MA,NM,VT |
| Services Offered | Community Solar Platform (CSP): This software solution allowed cooperative members to calculate energy production and monthly credits. It also included a smartphone application for easy access. Community Solar Gardens: CEC developed, operated, and maintained centralized solar arrays where community members could purchase solar panels. Participants received credits on their electric bills for the electricity generated by their panels. Partnerships with Local Utilities: CEC partnered with various local utilities to facilitate the integration of community solar projects. Long-term Loans for Solar Investments: In collaboration with financial institutions, CEC offered long-term loans to consumers and businesses investing in community-owned solar gardens. |
| Roofing service | – |
| Panel Options | Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline, Thin-Film Solar Panels |
| Battery Installations | Lithium-Ion Batteries, Lead-Acid Batteries, Flow Batteries |
| Certifications | NABCEP |
| Solar system leases service | – |
| Expands dealership network | – |
| BBB Rating | A- |
| Warranty | – |
Clean Energy Collective Website Visits Two-Year Trend: Positive
Learn more: Website Visits Trend.
| Avg Monthly Visits | Page Per Visit | Time On Site | Bounce Rate | Direct Traffic | Search Traffic | Paid Search Traffic | Referral Traffic | Mail Traffic | Social Traffic |
| 562 | 1.4 | 23.5 | 0.54 | 48% | 2% | 0.14% | 43.9% | 0.02% | 6.0% |
Clean Energy Collective Social Media
What Do Customers Say About the Clean Energy Collective?
Positive reviews:
“I have been working with Mike Dow and Clean Energy Collective. He has been very responsive, and great to work with. He is low pressure, and gets all of my questions answered.” – Dan W. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ December 13, 2013
Negative reviews:
“In 2018, we invested nearly $20K with Clean Energy Collective for community solar and with the expectation of receiving an offset of our Xcel bill’s electrical portion. In the thirteen months since we invested, there have been 5 months, or nearly half of the time we’ve been invested, that their solar arrays have a) failed to report data or b) been wholly offline, resulting in NO offset to our bill. Their explanation is that the hardware they maintain is out of date–the inverters are not up to industry standard, are no longer stocked, the technicians aren’t in Colorado–that it would be ‘financially prohibitive’ to upgrade their system, although the figure the rep quoted was $200,000-$300,000, which is a nominal amount for a company that size. Their alternative to maintaining or upgrading their system is to order special production of obsolete parts and wait around until that happens. So, after a high-pressure sales deal (“”I’ll come to your house for a check!””), we’re now out the investment AND the offset to our bill until some moment in the future when a newly manufactured but obsolete part shows up to coddle the system along until something else breaks. Not just us–we were accidentally copied on emails to other angry customers.” – Emily S. ⭐☆☆☆☆ March 10, 2020
“I purchased 8 panels through CEC a few years ago. Updating this review after a few years of experience.Upside- Very affordable way to purchase clean energy and put panels on the grid. So much cheaper than rooftop solar for a similar result. Their team is quick to reply to you when you have questions. Great option if you don’t have room on a roof for solar, or live in a condo or apartment building.Downside- It seems like they don’t do good maintenance on their solar panels as they often break down, and they take weeks to fix them. Despite complaining about this, they don’t really seem to care. Their website to monitor your panels production is often not working and the interface is not great either, especially on mobile. Eg- It’s now February, and the online website doesn’t show any production since Dec of last year.Bottom line, it’s a great option for clean energy and you get what you pay for since it is affordable. I just wish they did better maintenance and had a better monitoring solution.” – Allen C. ⭐☆☆☆☆ February 10, 2020
Positive reviews:
“I started at the company when they were reorganizing and evaluating new cost-saving avenues to grow the brand and product lines, including technology updates and implementation. I highly value the transparency of leadership and the problem-solving nature of my coworkers.” – Director of Marketing & Inside Sales ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ April 6, 2020
“I truly enjoyed my time at CEC. While I was there I worked with many amazing people to bring a product that made a difference in the world for us and our clients (which was everyone). The senior developers were patient working with the juniours, and everyone was allowed to be themselves without pressure – allowing them to reach their full potential.” – NET Developer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ April 11, 2017
Negative reviews:
“This company is experiencing growing pains. Hopefully they can withstand the painful lack of culture, input, structure and management that the company is experiencing at this time and for the last year.” – Business Development ⭐☆☆☆☆ April 2, 2017
“I’ve never worked at a company more enthusiastic about getting employees to try to become a cohesive group. Monthly events and awards to promote comradery and department competition.Once upper management became leaders instead of doing the work and began trusting their hired talent, the company began to accelerate in the market without limit. Mid level management changes and fair salary were finally in place at the moment of my departure. I have watched the company externally and they are making an impact in the market and starting into their next growth spurt after a short plateau.” – VP Delivery ⭐☆☆☆☆ February 24, 2018
Positive reviews:
“Very happy with my community solar purchase. Now my electricity use is basically 100% renewable, but without having to have panels on my roof. Not to mention the fact that my energy bill has been cut roughly in half.” – Patrick Jankovich ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2019
“They do what they say they’re going to do, and they do it on time.” – Bradley Blanchette ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 2020
Negative reviews:
“Clean Energy Collective filed for bankruptcy last summer. No surprise. Those guys couldn’t run a lemonade stand. We invested with Clean Energy Collective about 18 months ago for community solar and with the expectation of receiving an offset of our Xcel bill’s electrical portion. Nearly half of the time we’ve been invested, that their solar arrays have a) failed to report data or b) been wholly offline, resulting in NO offset to our bill. Their explanation is that the hardware they maintain is out of date–the inverters are not up to industry standard, are no longer stocked, the technicians aren’t in Colorado–that it would be ‘financially prohibitive’ to upgrade their system. This response, which is inadequate, was pre-COVID-19.Their alternative to maintaining or upgrading their system is to order special production of obsolete parts and wait around until that happens. So, after a high-pressure sales deal (“”I’ll come to your house for a check!””), we’re now out the investment AND the offset to our bill until some moment in the future when newly manufactured but obsolete part shows up to coddle the system along until something else breaks. Given the international slow downs around COVID-19, I don’t know when they’ll be able to repair so we’re out a substantial amount of money with no returns. Also, their repair people are out-of-state so they can’t travel here to fix anything.In emails to us, they’ve explained they lack the capital (approximately $200-300k) to upgrade so the system works. I’m pretty unimpressed with a business model that’s so debt-heavy that they can’t maintain their own facilities and is essentially borrowing customer money and earning off of it, while not repaying the loan nor being able to deliver. We got accidentally copied on some angry customer emails so we’re not the only ones. And other than one tone-deaf email from the CEO, they don’t communicate so we just drift along, wondering what happened to our money while paying our Xcel bills in full.” – Emily Sinclair ⭐☆☆☆☆ 2021
“Sense the bankruptcy, I have not received any notice as to what the transition plan is for my solar panels. Does anyone know how to get these credits or physically picking up my solar panels?” – Brent Sinn ⭐☆☆☆☆ 2024
Summarizing:
Do We Recommend Clean Energy Collective Services?
Average Performer
Clean Energy Collective gets the Average Performer badge and works in 4 states, but their third-party ratings don’t go above 4. Local community trust isn’t their strong suit either – their score is 3.5 in our evaluation. This badge means they are somehow reliable, but you need to pay more attention to what they have to offer. While Clean Energy Collective may not lead the pack, they are certainly recognized for their capacity to meet a broad range of solar installation needs with commendable customer satisfaction. When considering this solar installer, you can add Clean Energy Collective to your list as a lower priority and one that requires additional research before you decide to work with them.
