https://www.ktiv.com/2024/08/02/solar-company-goes-dark-leaving-residents-hook-thousands/
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QUIMBY, Iowa (KTIV) – Hundreds of people across the Midwest are complaining about a solar company that’s gone dark, leaving some with solar panels sitting on their land but not hooked up to the grid.
Even on sunny days like Friday, Quimby, IA resident Aaron Bailey said his assembled panels don’t do anything. Just to be very clear: His entire solar panel set-up is ready to go. It’s passed all the government inspections, the wires are hooked up, it just needs to be turned on.
But for more than a year, this homeowner says Revolution Solar failed to flip the switch. It’s unknown if Revolution Solar filed bankruptcy, or if they’ve just gone into hiding. When our investigative journalist calls, he just gets a busy signal.
Bailey owes the bank more than fifty thousand dollars. That would be fine if his solar system was up and running to save him money. The whole idea is to cover the loan for the solar panels with electric savings.
The problem is, that while the panels are installed, they aren’t turned on. But the bank still wants its money. Bailey is in an electrical storm. He only needs one more piece of paperwork from Revolution Solar to connect to the grid.
He says they’ve refused for more than a year.
“We were just left on our own and we went back on the review site and basically put our number instead if anyone else is seeing this, give us a call,” he said. “Within a day 10 to 15 people message saying they did the same thing to us.”
A Facebook group for “people wronged” by Revolution Solar has hundreds of members. Over in Illinois, state officials said they’ve received more than 100 complaints about Revolution Solar just in the last year. In fact, Revolution Solar was suspended from a program for failing to pass on rebates to customers.
The irony is Friday would be a great day for this solar system in rural Quimby. The sun is shining but instead of working, the panels are just sitting here doing nothing.
Bailey provided us with a copy of a letter sent from the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to impacted consumers. In the letter, dated March of 2024, the AG asked Revolution Solar to stop doing business in Iowa until outstanding projects were complete.
Bailey says Revolution did stop, but they also disappeared.
“They’re definitely gone,” Bailey said. “Because there’s no way to get a hold of them. All numbers connected to them say they’re disconnected.”
Bailey says the system was supposed to save him at least 80% on his electric bill, which ranges from 150-250 dollars per month. He was also promised rebates which never materialized.
When his family first started the process, Bailey said Revolution Solar had almost entirely five-star reviews. Now, many are one-star.
Bailey said his solar dream is dead. He just wants the panels gone so his kids can use the yard again.
KTIV contacts loan company
We do have a response from Enium Capital Group, which is the company holding a lot of these solar loans. Bailey said they’ve called asking for payment, even though the solar system doesn’t work. He believes Enium should not have disbursed the funds for the system until after it was actually connected to the grid.
Enium Capital Group provided the following statement:
“We would like to address the concerns raised by homeowners regarding non-functional solar panels installed by Revolution Solar, for which they are currently making payments.
