What SunPower Customers Need to Know About Its Bankruptcy

After major months of public struggles and structural changes, SunPower, one of the country’s largest home solar providers, filed for bankruptcy. This leaves the company’s nearly 600,000 residential solar customers wondering, “What do I do now?”

To put it simply, it’s complicated. A lot is still up in the air, but here’s what consumers should know about the situation with SunPower and how it impacts their system.

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SunPower is not out of business (yet)

First things first, SunPower is not out of business, at least not yet. The company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, which allows a company to restructure while it continues to operate. Complete Solaria, acting as a “stalking horse buyer,” agreed to purchase some of SunPower’s assets as part of the filing, including Blue Raven Solar, SunPower’s New Homes business, and a portion of SunPower's Dealer network.

SunPower may decide to keep other portions of the business. However, at the time of publication, it seems that they will continue to liquidate assets. The total impact of SunPower's bankruptcy remains to be seen, and will continue to develop with time.

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What SunPower customers can do after the bankruptcy

1. Find all of your installation paperwork and communications

Gathering all of your SunPower paperwork is crucial for moving forward. You’ll want your warranty paperwork, signed contracts, and financing agreements handy. Familiarize yourself with the equipment on your roof, most notably the equipment brands. If you’ve had any written communications with SunPower, keep them on file. 

Understanding the fine print of your contracts will make it easier for you down the line if another company takes over your lease or if you need a contractor to come out and fix your system. 

2. Call your SunPower dealer

If your system was installed by a SunPower dealer, now would be a good time to call them if they haven’t already reached out to you. You can ask them questions about your warranty and whether they offer support for their SunPower customers. 

3. Call the manufacturers of your equipment 

Solar equipment often has its own warranties offered by manufacturers. After reviewing your SunPower documents, contact the manufacturers of your solar panels, inverters, and racking equipment to confirm that the manufacturer warranty is still valid after the SunPower bankruptcy news. 

Many SunPower installations use Enphase microinverters and Maxeon solar panels. Both Enphase and Maxeon plan to honor their respective manufacturer warranties should any issues arise with your equipment. However, manufacturer warranties don't typically cover costs to ship replacement parts or the labor to install them.

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What happens to your SunPower warranty?

It's fair for consumers to be concerned about SunPower warranties, especially because many were sold on SunPower’s reputation for providing the most comprehensive warranty coverage in the home solar industry. 

SunPower customers may lose certain portions of their promised warranty coverage, namely coverage for repair and replacement costs. However, these warranties might have clauses in the fine print that discuss what happens in a transfer of ownership, so be sure to familiarize yourself with what is written in your warranty.

Your equipment should still be covered under manufacturers’ warranties. SunPower installations used equipment from multiple manufacturers, including Maxeon and Enphase. Maxeon released the following statement: 

“We will monitor the situation with SunPower Corporation and their asset sale to determine how we can support dealers and partners in the U.S. with their SunPower solar panels manufactured by Maxeon.”

You may be able to retain third-party warranty coverage through Solar Insure’s SolarDetect program, so long as the products on your roof are on its Approved Vendor List and you're in a covered service area. Participating in Solar Insure’s program gives you access to a network of companies that will perform maintenance and service on your system, even if your solar company goes out of business.

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What happens to your SunPower lease or PPA agreement?

When a solar company files for bankruptcy, its solar lease and PPA agreements are sold as assets and taken over by another company. This process is relatively common when solar companies liquidate their assets, and consumer transition is typically seamless. 

It seems a majority of SunPower lease agreements have been taken over by Launch Servicing, LLC, a company that will handle the financial aspect of SunPower's third-party solar agreements. But, how maintenance and servicing will be handled is still unclear. 

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What if your SunPower system currently needs repairs?

SunPower is currently unable to service malfunctioning systems. 

Homeowners who purchased their systems with cash or a loan can get them serviced by any solar servicing company willing to do the work. If a SunPower dealer installed your system, it may be worthwhile to start there when looking for help with repairs and maintenance. You can also contact the manufacturer of your equipment to see if they have any partners willing to take on the project.

If you have a SunPower lease or PPA and you need a repair, be prepared to wait it out. Because SunPower is technically the owner of these systems and will likely sell them off as assets, you’ll need to wait until SunPower signs an agreement with a new service provider. Once this happens, you can schedule repairs.

If you were in the process of filing a warranty claim or having your system repaired before the SunPower bankruptcy filing, you may be able to file a Proof of Claim form and potentially get paid out. There is no guarantee you will get money this way, and there is limited time to file.

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So, what now?

Unfortunately, much of this is a waiting game. The SunPower bankruptcy situation is still developing, and it’s hard to say the exact direction SunPower will take and what will happen next. The best thing for you to do is know all of the details of your system. Knowledge is power—the more you understand about your specific situation, the better you can handle the next steps that come from SunPower. 

SolarReviews will continue to monitor the situation at SunPower to provide homeowners with the most up-to-date information possible.