“Shadow Shading”: Why Your Solar Production Failed (And Why Your Sales Rep Knew It Would)
May 11, 2026 No Comments
Read More » If the company that sold you solar panels has gone out of business, declared bankruptcy, or stopped responding to your calls, you are not alone. Tens of thousands of homeowners across the country are in the same situation following recent collapses in the residential solar industry — including SunPower’s 2024 Chapter 11 filing and a wave of smaller installer closures that have continued through 2025 and 2026.
When a solar company shuts down, the agreement does not simply disappear. The lease, loan, or Power Purchase Agreement typically continues — usually transferred to a successor servicer — but the practical obligations the original company had toward you (warranty service, repairs, performance guarantees, customer support) often break down. That gap between the surviving payment obligation and the missing service obligation is where a qualified attorney may review whether your situation may be a potential issue worth considering.
Solar Cancellation Resource Center is a marketing and intake company. SCRC does not perform legal work. SCRC collects and organizes the information you provide, then connects you with a qualified law firm — such as Consumer Advocacy Law Group — that may review your situation. The initial intake is free, takes approximately 60 seconds, and you can submit your information at any point on this page.
The residential solar industry has seen significant turmoil over the past several years. Some of
the most widely reported closures and bankruptcies include:
Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2024. SunPower was one of the largest residential solar installers in the United States, and the bankruptcy affected leases, loans, and Power Purchase Agreements held by tens of thousands of homeowners.
Across the country, smaller residential installers have closed their doors with little or no notice to existing customers. These closures often leave homeowners without a clear point of contact for warranty issues or service requests.
Has faced widely reported financial pressure and restructuring activity. Many homeowners with Sunnova agreements have reported difficulty reaching customer support and getting service requests addressed.
This page is updated as new closures and bankruptcies are reported. If your installer is not named above and has gone out of business, the same general framework still applies — a qualified attorney may review the specifics of your situation.
There are several outcomes that homeowners commonly experience when their solar company shuts down. Not every situation involves all of these, but the patterns are consistent enough to be worth understanding.
Whether you have a lease, a loan, or a PPA, the agreement itself typically continues even whenthe original company stops operating. In a bankruptcy, the agreement is often sold to asuccessor company that takes over the role of receiving payments. In a non-bankruptcy closure, the agreement may be assigned to another servicer.
Most solar agreements include warranties — equipment warranties, workmanship warranties, and (sometimes) production guarantees. When the original company closes, the practical ability to honor those warranties often breaks down. Successor servicers are typically focused on collecting payments rather than performing service work, and warranty providers from the original installer may no longer respond.
Phone numbers stop working. Email addresses bounce. The online portal stops being updated. The monitoring app stops showing current production data. These are all common symptoms of a solar company that has closed or is in the process of closing.
If your solar equipment was already having problems before the company closed, those problems generally do not get fixed afterward. Replacement parts, inverter repairs, monitoring system reconfigurations — none of these typically happen once the original company is gone.
There are several situations specific to solar company closures that have led homeowners to submit their information for intake. The information below is general and educational. Whether your specific situation may be eligible for a legal review is determined by a qualified attorney, not by SCRC.
If your equipment is failing and the company that sold it to you is no longer responsive, the warranty that was part of your original agreement may not be functioning in practice. A qualified attorney may review whether the practical failure of warranty service may be a potential issue.
Some solar agreements — particularly PPAs and certain lease structures — include production guarantees. If the equipment is producing well below the guaranteed level, and the company that issued the guarantee is no longer responding, a qualified attorney may review whether the
practical breakdown of the guarantee may be a potential issue.
Some homeowners discovered after installation that the savings, performance, or financial figures described at the point of sale did not match reality — and then the company closed before any of those issues could be addressed. The closure does not eliminate the question of whether the original sale may have been a potential issue. A qualified attorney may review the specifics.
A solar agreement attached to a property — combined with a closed installer who can no longer help with transferability questions or UCC-1 filing concerns — can create obstacles in a real estate transaction. A qualified attorney may review the homeowner’s options.
If you financed your solar equipment through a lender (such as GoodLeap, Mosaic, Sunlight Financial, or Service Finance), the loan obligation typically continues even when the installer closes. The lender expects loan payments regardless of whether the installer is still operating. This creates a particular kind of situation where the homeowner is paying for equipment with no available installer to maintain it. A qualified attorney may review whether this may be a potential issue worth considering.
Documentation may be important regardless of whether your specific situation ends up being eligible for a legal review. The homeowner provides their documentation; SCRC organizes it and forwards the information to a qualified law firm for review.
If you submit your information for intake, the homeowner provides their documentation as part of the information collection step. The following items are typically helpful for a qualified law firm to have on hand when reviewing a situation involving a closed solar company:
Most solar leases, loans, and PPAs include a UCC-1 fixture filing. This is a notice filed in public records that places a lien on the solar equipment itself — not on your home. The UCC-1 protects the original company’s (or its successor’s) interest in the equipment that was installed.
When a solar company closes, the UCC-1 typically transfers to whichever entity acquires the agreement. The filing remains in place even though the original company no longer exists, and it can affect a home sale or refinance because title companies and lenders see the filing during their searches. A qualified attorney may review the homeowner’s options for addressing the UCC-1 filing on the solar equipment in the context of a specific situation.
The original company’s filing — and any successor’s filing — protects an interest in the panels, inverters, and related equipment. SCRC does not provide guidance on how a UCC- 1 filing on solar equipment may affect a specific real estate transaction. That determination is made by a qualified attorney based on the specifics of the situation.
You complete a short intake form that asks about your solar agreement, the company that sold it to you, the company that is currently servicing it, the issues you have experienced, and any communication you have had with either the original company or a successor servicer. The intake takes approximately 60 seconds and there is no cost or obligation.
If your initial intake suggests there may be matters worth a legal review, an SCRC specialist follows up to collect additional information. The homeowner provides their documentation.
SCRC organizes the information you provide; SCRC does not analyze, audit, or interpret your contract.
The information you provide is then forwarded to a qualified law firm, such as Consumer Advocacy Law Group. A qualified attorney may review your documentation and determine whether your situation may qualify for a potential legal review. Any decision about whether your situation has merit, what legal considerations may apply, and what next steps may be appropriate is made by the attorney — not by SCRC.
If a qualified attorney determines that your situation may be eligible for a legal review, the law firm communicates directly with you about next steps. From this point forward, the relationship is between the homeowner and the law firm. SCRC’s role is complete once the connection has been made.
About Fees and the Fixed-Fee Model
Take this quiz to see if you're eligible for cancellation.
No. Bankruptcy does not automatically end a solar agreement. The contract typically survives the bankruptcy and is often transferred to a successor servicer that takes over the role of receiving payments. Whether your specific situation may be eligible for a legal review is determined by a qualified attorney based on the specifics, not by the bankruptcy itself.
The decision to stop making payments must only be considered under the advice and representation of a qualified attorney. The agreement typically continues even when the original company closes, and a successor servicer usually expects payments to continue. SCRC does
not provide guidance on payment decisions. If you have been connected with a qualified law firm, please direct payment-related questions to the attorney handling your matter.
A qualified attorney makes that determination — not SCRC. The intake form gathers initial information that the law firm uses to evaluate whether your agreement may be eligible for a potential legal review.This is one of the most common — and most difficult — questions. In theory, warranty obligations transfer along with the agreement to whichever entity now holds it. In practice, warranty service often breaks down. A qualified attorney may review whether the practical breakdown of warranty service may be a potential issue under the agreement and applicable law.
SunPower’s 2024 Chapter 11 filing affected leases, loans, and PPAs held by many homeowners. The agreement typically continues with a successor servicer, but warranty and service obligations have often broken down in practice. A qualified attorney may review the specifics of a SunPower situation to determine whether it may be eligible for a legal review.
Yes — the loan obligation typically continues even when the installer closes. The lender expects loan payments regardless of whether the installer is still operating. A qualified attorney may review whether the practical loss of installer support may be a potential issue under the
loan agreement and applicable law.
The UCC-1 fixture filing typically associated with a solar agreement is a lien on the solar equipment, not on the home itself. When a solar company closes, the UCC-1 generally transfers to the successor servicer or whichever entity acquires the underlying agreement. A qualified attorney may review how the filing may apply to your specific situation.
Successor servicers typically send written notice to homeowners when an agreement is transferred. If you have not received notice, you may receive a statement from a new entity or see a different name on your monthly bill. A qualified attorney can help interpret the documentation if your situation is reviewed.
No. The initial intake through SCRC is free. Any fees that may apply later — for example, fees associated with engagement by a qualified law firm — are disclosed in writing before any commitment is made.
The intake form itself takes approximately 60 seconds. Information collection typically takes one to two weeks, depending on how quickly the homeowner provides the requested documentation. Once SCRC has connected you with a qualified law firm, the timing of any review is determined by the attorney.
No. SCRC does not guarantee any outcome. Whether your situation may qualify for a legal review — and the result of any review — is determined by a qualified law firm based on the specifics. Individual experiences vary.
These are the questions that come up most often during intake calls involving closed solar companies. The answers below are general and educational. They do not constitute legal advice.
Or call 888-918-2083 to submit your information