![]() At that price the savings on our electricity bill (over the next 25 years) would be significantly less than the cost of the system. They make a big deal about the federal tax credit (30%), but that would come as a credit not a refund so it would take a few years to be realized, if Republicans don't cancel it in the meantime. The system suggested by the new supplier would generate 12,000 kWh in the first year, so about 2/3 or our energy usage. The first new supplier we had out to give us an estimate claims that, even if the system proposed by the initial company had been installed, it would have been too small and it would have delivered significantly less power than we were told it would. Basically, it seems that will mean installing a whole different system without using anything of what is in place. ![]() So, now we have started to talk to other solar providers to get an idea of our options. I will file a claim with the bankruptcy court for the repairs to the house but I know I will be at the end of a long list of creditors. No other solar company in the area uses the battery or other components that are in place. The bankruptcy was filed on such short notice their own crews were caught unawares in the field and only found out when the company credit cards were declined when they tried to pay for gas or their hotel rooms.Īt this point I do not know who actually owns the components that were installed. Chapter 7 means they are actually being liquidated, unlike Chapter 11 which is reorganization. A couple of weeks ago we got a letter from the court system in North Carolina to inform us that the solar company has declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, is being dissolved, and their assets are being sold off. We sent the solar company our inspection report on the damage to the house and asked for a plan for them to fix it, but never heard back (surprise!). The solar company says there is a defective component to the battery which causes it to perform poorly and possibly catch fire, while the battery manufacturer blames the solar company for installing their systems incorrectly. We got an email that there is a lawsuit between the solar company and the battery manufacturer. ![]() So, the solar panels and electrical cables were never installed. It is possible that the house will have to be jacked up to properly make repairs.Īfter that, we had months of being put off because supposedly this part or that part was backordered. Inside the house, to route the electrical cable they cut completely through a structural component of the foundation. While installing the battery in the basement and the control panel on the front of the house (instead of the side where the plans called for it to go) the contractors drilled through the brick wall, making a big hole and knocking loose bricks that they just shoved back in the wall with no mortar. My wife and I, and our dogs and livestock, have stumbled into the trench many times it's a wonder no-one has broken an ankle or a leg by now. We have to jump back and forth over the trench to get from the house to the pasture, and grass has grown up to where you can't see the trench in places. That was in June, and nothing has been done since. They dug a trench that did not follow the route we flagged, but rather meandered some 450 yards across the pasture and up the path from the house to the pasture. When the crew showed up to install the frame for the panels they decided the barn roof was not suitable (although the sales rep assured us it was) and they installed a ground mount in back of the barn, in a place that is in shade for a couple of hours each morning and evening. Things went off the rails almost immediately. ![]() The total price was a lot more than I was expecting (~ $75,000) but if the system performed as promised it would eventually pay off. We (together with the sales rep) marked off a route to trench to bury the power cables that came to just under 300 yards which we were told was the maximum distance they would do. The solar panels were supposed to go on the roof of the barn as it is out in the pasture our house is not suitable because it is surrounded by trees we don't want to remove. Last March we (my wife and I) signed a contract to have a solar system installed. I live on a small farm, with the house set back in the forest a couple of hundred yards from the open pasture.
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