New Report Reveals Financial Damage Stemming from Solar Panel Fraud in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas — A new report from Texas Appleseed reveals soaring rates of solar panel-related frauds, scams, and consumer harms. The report, which analyzes consumer complaints from 2018 to 2024, concludes that consumer protection lapses must be addressed to incentivize fair market practices for people to realize the benefits of residential solar energy.

Key findings from the report, entitled, Dimming the Benefits of Residential Solar in Texas: How Harmful Market Practices are Undermining the Potential of Residential Rooftop Solar, are listed below.

• The number of consumer complaints related to solar panels that were submitted to the Texas Office of the Attorney General (OAG) and Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) skyrocketed from 2018 to 2023, increasing by 818% and 576%, respectively.
• Residents in 141 of the 254 Texas counties submitted solar panel-related complaints to the OAG, indicating that problematic practices are widespread.
• The counties with the highest number of complaints were Harris County, Tarrant County, Dallas County, Bexar County, and El Paso County. Looking at the rate of complaints by population, smaller counties topped the list: McMullen County, Callahan County, Donley County, Trinity County, and Andrews County.
• Many of the harmful practices targeted older Texans and people who are not native English speakers. These practices included misleading statements that residents would no longer receive electric bills after panels were installed, false promises of government tax credits, and forgeries of signatures or other deceptive practices used to execute financing contracts.
• Other common complaints included defective or damaged goods, problems with sales practices, failure to provide repairs, and unsatisfactory workmanship. Eight percent of the complaints were related to people billed for goods or services not received. 
• Among the complaints submitted by Texans, 45% noted problems with false or misleading statements, and 37% mentioned unsatisfactory service. 
• Forty-two percent of the complaints included mention of a loan, and 11% included leases, the two most common financing mechanisms for residential rooftop solar panels. GoodLeap and Solar Mosaic were the lenders most commonly cited in the complaints.

Some national residential solar companies have increased reliance on door-to-door sales, developed new financing models, and shifted their focus to closing the deal rather than ensuring consumer satisfaction. As a result, many Texans feel swindled into contracts for solar panel systems that fail to offset their electricity bill and do not deliver tax credits or other financial benefits as promised.

One consumer from Fayette County writes in a complaint submitted to the Texas Office of the Attorney General, “This complaint is on behalf of my mother...Mr. Perez came by her house and convinced her she would save money on her electric bills and the government would pay for solar panels if she qualified. No mention of a cost to her throughout the entire process. She is 90 years old and is very confused about the whole ordeal...she had no computer, no email account and is legally blind due to complications with Macular Degeneration, yet somehow she has ended up with a debt of $56,930.43. Mr. Perez created an email account on her phone without her knowledge and was using it to DocuSign documents.”

In some instances, consumers are charged for solar panels they never purchased or received. One Hidalgo County resident’s complaint reads, “Door to door agent went to our home and to offer sola[r] panels, we did the application then they told us we did not qualify due to our roof not passing inspection, then we get letters from the court…I then come to the court because we did not feel comfortable and they told us that we had to pay thousands of dollars for panels we don’t even have.”

Other notable consumer harms include companies installing systems that never pass inspection or connect to the local electric utility, unfulfilled warranty and repair obligations, and unrepaired roof damage from installation or removal of the panels. 

“Some solar companies are taking advantage of a climate- and taxpayer-friendly product by exploiting vulnerable Texans to increase their bottom line. These bad actors must be held accountable,” said Ann Baddour, director of the Fair Financial Services Project at Texas Appleseed. “The data we found in thousands of consumer complaints is powerful evidence that we need new legal protections and enforcement actions to ensure companies follow fair and ethical practices that benefit Texans.”

The rate of complaints is similar across a broad swath of the state, covering urban and rural counties alike. These complaints appear to be systemic and are consistent with those identified in other areas of the country. The Federal Trade Commission has seen a 746% increase in solar-related consumer complaints from 2018 to 2023. 

Expanding residential use of solar panels is an increasingly popular way to generate clean, sustainable, self-reliant energy for future generations of Texans. In order to realize solar’s full potential, new legal protections are needed and companies must use ethical business practices.

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MEDIA NOTE: The report’s landing page includes an interactive map of the county-specific data. 

About Texas Appleseed

As one of the most trusted resources for data-driven policy analysis and solutions, Texas Appleseed advocates at the state and local level for fair, just, and equitable laws. Our work has shaped hundreds of laws and positively affected millions of Texans by breaking down barriers through transformative policy solutions. Visit www.TexasAppleseed.org for more information.