Solar marketing scandals in New Mexico: Deceptive sales reported for overpriced, underperforming systems

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | August 6, 2023 | Kevin Robinson-Avila

[CedarDave]

A solar salesperson spent five hours in July on a site visit with Jan, a 76-year-old homeowner, to convince her that installing a small rooftop solar system on her Northeast Heights home would eliminate her electric bills overnight.

Later, after printing out the one-page financial document she signed, Jan realized it was a 25-year agreement with a $79-per-month repayment plan. That’s $18 more than her current utility payments, which average about $61 per month based on a review of all her Public Service Co. of New Mexico bills since January 2022.

Jan did cancel after consulting with Affordable Solar, which sent Solar Consultant Tyson Lanier to her home to review her energy use and needs.

Lanier concluded that the California firm’s four-panel solar installation would not even have generated enough electricity to meet half of Jan’s energy consumption, meaning she still would be paying a PNM a monthly bill for electricity on top of the $79 monthly loan repayments. And, the system itself was way overpriced at 14.2 cents per kilowatt hour of actual electric production.

As a low-consumption utility customer, Jan currently pays PNM less than 8 cents per kilowatt hour.

Like Jan, many homeowners in Albuquerque and around the state are reporting aggressive sales efforts by some solar companies that conduct door-to-door marketing campaigns to sign them up for solar systems they say will immediately eliminate homeowners’ electric consumption from PNM or other utilities while significantly saving them money from day one.

But many who sign contracts rapidly discover that their systems don’t actually produce the amount of electricity promised. And they end up stuck with both ongoing PNM bills, plus monthly payments on their solar panels, through 20- to 25-year contracts that actually cost them much more than if they had stayed with their utility company.

[CedarDave]

Lots of out-of-state representatives knocking on doors and claiming to show electric savings with solar panels. Costs include panels and installation with long term 25-year contracts and the work may not even include the total number of panels needed for a break-even installation.

Lengthy 2,350+ article in Today's Journal. Part 2 in tomorrows paper.

Though subscription, the Journal commonly allows a certain amount of free articles not requiring a subscription.

[CedarDave]

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[Dave911]

Solar panels on homes were a scam years ago when they were pushed and still are today.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Not much different than the gypsies "resealing" a driveway with used motor oil.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Even the best solar installations are an expensive ripoff. But that’s a feature of “climate change marketing”, not a bug.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

--- "Deceptive sales reported for overpriced, underperforming systems"

So Obama, huh? And the Granholm follies?

Remember Barry's promise that Solyndra was the "future." How right he was. Deceptive, overpriced, underperforming....

[dfwgator]

Yeah, it’s a great idea, until that first hailstorm comes.

[steve86]

I signed up with the email registration but can’t read even this single article. Waste of time.

[Libloather]

Can you REALLY save money with solar panels? The number of homes having systems installed shot up by 40% last year - but experts warn it can take more than a DECADE to break even on the $20,000 investment

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12366699/Can-REALLY-save-money-solar-panels-number-homes-having-systems-installed-shot-40-year-experts-warn-DECADE-break-20-000-investment.html

[clearcarbon]

"it was a 25-year agreement with a $79-per-month repayment plan.

What's the expected life of a rooftop solar system in New Mexico under ideal conditions?

[Da Coyote]

There are two types of solar systems, ones which underperform now and the rest which will underperform.

[rktman]

Same here in NV. Neighbors up hill from us just had theirs removed and NOT replaced. At least not yet. I have enough yard on the south side for a significant assembly but ROI pay back is probably past my “Use by” date. 😳🤔😁👍

[HereInTheHeartland]

I’m seeing this from the front line.
There are people on the left who think this is the greatest thing in the world.
They are pushing low income people to get this technology .
They really are clueless

[redcatcherb412]

Only solar I use is a 400 watt panel bank charging a 6 battery array of 12v batteries hooked to 2 2000 watt inverters. Also a 3 panel thermal array heating glycol that thru the heat exchanger heats a hot water heater and circulates heated water inside the concrete flooring. None is grid tie, all energy captured and used in house. Have had it up and running for over 8 years. Bought it piecemeal from online vendors and configured/installed myself.

works great.

[Marko413]

If the panels were so amazing why wouldn’t 80% or more of homes have them? In most of our subdivisions, it’s 5% or less of homes. Several people I’ve talked to years later report how the company went belly up so now no repairs or faulty panels will be replaced. And they still have that loan which ranged between $25-40k.

Yep, not for me.

[protoconservative]

What’s the expected life of a rooftop solar system in New Mexico under ideal conditions?

18-25 years, the rest of the cost is most likely beared by home owners insurance (hail and wind damage). This sort of service agreement might make sense for someone in their 30s knowing the local goverment is demanding of the utility company (a lot of utilities offer discounts to those over 75 with small demands). Grid costs are going to dominate regions that can produce croupous rooftop solar. When NG is freed from the market by the end of the russia war of agression and 10 years more solar delpolyment enengy costs from utilities will sink like a stone.

The second half of the agreement the bill will be less than the one meal cost of fast food.

I would take a $75/mo plan for 5KWH/day for 25 years in a heartbeat. But my cooling costs where I would ever touch 5KWH/day are limited to 2.5 months a year. I would go 100/mo if the company was willing to take on the distribution costs. An electric car is 4miles/KWH, that is where owning ones own overside production may work for 20 years..... someone who wants to drive 500 miles/week.

[cyclotic]

I had one of those yahoos at my door. He was wearing raggedy clothes and pulled up a photo of “his ranch” in Florida.

For some reason he wanted to tell me how successful he was.

After I told him I was clearly uninterested I saw his car. A ratty old suburban with a garbage bag for a side window.

Yea, solar been berry berry good to me.

[1FreeAmerican]

Well, I installed many systems that were in the black in 3-4 years. This meant that the Customer was earning a tax free income after that - as you do not pay tax on a zeroed electrical bill. A couple systems were zeroing a $600/mo electrical bill, with many in the $250-$350/mo range. This of course was in Hawaii where sun is abundant, electricity rates were around $.36/kwh, and the State provided a huge tax credit. So depending on the circumstances solar is most definitely not a rip-off.

But with that said there indeed many scams and scammers out there and they are preying on the elderly and ignorant.

It's fun for me to debunk there crapolla sales pitches. And I'll not tell them I'm an electrical contractor who can buy the materials at what they pay and install for nada. That's just the icing on the cake.

[MileHi]

Roof top solar is not designed to work, it is designed to sell.

[Claud]

Good to hear about your success! Hoping to get to where you are eventually.

I finally got started last year with the el cheapo 100-watt system from Harbor Freight...something like $160. So far the only use I get out of it is during emergencies, but I am thinking about adding batteries and panels piecemeal and eventually taking some of the load off the utility company.

For the benefit of everyone else on here, this site is one of my favorites...

https://builditsolar.com/

energy saving projects for every budget and skill level. And do I mean *EVERY* budget...from covering windows with bubble wrap in the winter to hot water projects like you did.