Solar Power. Talk to me.

[Zaxxon]

Solar leases are for the birds. I feel your frustration. Calling their bluff seems like the right call to me--that price for that system is absurd.

holy cow, you're faster than Isgrimnur when you state his name

Nuggets are cruising, so the phone is out...

[malchior]

That's a flat put scam price. I'd tell them to f off at any price. They probably will walk away because it'll cost them more to collect and despose of the panels.

[Zaxxon]

https://xkcd.com/2812/

[TheMix]

Hover text:
"Getting the utility people to run transmission lines to Earth is expensive, but it will pay for itself in no time."

[Isgrimnur]

Who needs transmission lines?

A space solar power prototype, SSPD-1, has achieved wireless power transfer in space and transmitted power to Earth. The prototype, including MAPLE, a flexible lightweight microwave transmitter, validates the feasibility of space solar power, which can provide abundant and reliable power globally without ground-based transmission infrastructure.

A space solar power prototype that was launched into orbit in January is operational and has demonstrated its ability to wirelessly transmit power in space and to beam detectable power to Earth for the first time.

Wireless power transfer was demonstrated by MAPLE, one of three key technologies being tested by the Space Solar Power Demonstrator (SSPD-1), the first space-borne prototype from Caltech’s Space Solar Power Project (SSPP). SSPP aims to harvest solar power in space and transmit it to the Earth’s surface.

[Zaxxon]

For those wondering why wireless power transfer from space is neat/needed, when sun rays are also wirelessly transferring power from space:

Space solar power provides a way to tap into the practically unlimited supply of solar energy in outer space, where the energy is constantly available without being subjected to the cycles of day and night, seasons, and cloud cover—potentially yielding eight times more power than solar panels at any location on Earth’s surface. When fully realized, SSPP will deploy a constellation of modular spacecraft that collect sunlight, transform it into electricity, then convert it to microwaves that will be transmitted wirelessly over long distances to wherever it is needed—including locations that currently have no access to reliable power.

“The flexible power transmission arrays are essential to the current design of Caltech’s vision for a constellation of sail-like solar panels that unfurl once they reach orbit,” says Sergio Pellegrino, Joyce and Kent Kresa Professor of Aerospace and Civil Engineering and co-director of SSPP.

“In the same way that the internet democratized access to information, we hope that wireless energy transfer democratizes access to energy,” Hajimiri says. “No energy transmission infrastructure will be needed on the ground to receive this power. That means we can send energy to remote regions and areas devastated by war or natural disaster.”

Although I have to say, the idea of targeted microwaves firing down power at rates high enough to matter in this context makes me a little nervous as to what happens should they miss their intended receiver target.

[LawBeefaroni]

...what happens should they miss their intended receiver target.

Tnfoil hats will finally have some use.

[Isgrimnur]

Tinfoil and microwaves...

[naednek]

Original Contract




Renewal



Need some help. After reading my message and seeing the two contracts. Do I have a leg to stand on? In my eyes, the new contract states that the new contract covers everything from the old lease except for price and the kw\h output. The old lease states that Sunpower is responsible for replacing the roof tiles if they reclaim the equipment. Sunpower is telling me that isn't the case.

Backstory:
We took over the lease when we moved into our house in 2018. In August of this month, the lease ended. The type of solar we have is the roof tile kind. They are not as efficient as the normal ones but we had no choice in the matter.

At least a year before the contract expired, I called Sunpower to ask a simple question... What happens at the end of the lease? When you reclaim the equipment do you replace the roofing tile or is the owner of the house responsible? Nobody could give me an answer and was told that everything would be communicated 6 months prior to the lease ending.

Except they didn't communicate until 2 months before the end of the lease and even then they didn't seem to know.
They sent me an offer to buy a 10-year-old inefficient system for around $11k or lease again for $56 a month, $20 more a month than what I was already paying. On a system that produces less each year.

I told them that I wasn't going to renew and they came back with a counteroffer. They wanted $5500 to buy or $40 something to lease. I asked why the mess didn't get the same percentage at a lower cost. They asked what would be reasonable and I came up with $28. They agreed


This all took about a month spilling into my vacation. I told them I wouldn't be signing until two things were addressed.
1: The monitoring app wasn't communicating with the system and wanted that repaired.
2: I want the system inspected to ensure everything is working.

This was communicated at the beginning of July. They opened a ticket for tech support to reach out to me
A week would go by and wouldn't hear anything m. I'd nudge them, they would nudge their tech support department. This happened for 3 weeks and finally got someone to come over on August 2nd to do the repair and inspection. 5 days before the lease ends.

Tech replaced the monitoring system but while he was there he said my SMUD power meter was frozen and that he couldn't do a full inspection until that gets fixed. I called SMUD while he was there, had the tech explain the issue and scheduled SMUD to come over which could take up to 10 days, which puts me past the lease term.
SMUD came earlier than expected, took a look, and said it was fine.

I emailed Sunpower back with the news and to have them have someone come back to inspect. Again had to wait another two weeks for their tech support to schedule an appointment. Sent another nasty gram and manically they called the same day.

They confirmed my system is working as expected.
Before signing I still wanted my question about who replaces the tile. They told me I was responsible for replacing it. I showed them the part in my lease where it says Sunpower is obligated to replace.

They wanted a copy of my lease which I found hilarious considering they gave me the copy in June.

They said they would take it up with management and get back to me.

They told me my new lease overrides. I pointed out, that's not what the new lease states. The new lease basically stated everything is the same as the old lease except for the price of the solar output.

I feel like I'm dealing with idiots who can't read or understand their jobs.

I tried calling to get this resolved and then have them put it in writing but they don't want to deal with it and told me to wait for the response to my email I sent before my call.

I'm tempted to just walk but I'm not in a position to replace the roof if it comes to it.

[Zaxxon]

Unless there’s something else in your renewal discussing this, I agree with your reading.

[naednek]

now they put me on hold and I think they just ghosted me.

[Blackhawk]

Ah, the standard modern tech support, "I don't know the answer" response.

[Punisher]

Ah, the standard modern tech support, "I don't know the answer" response.

I can't stand that.
I used to be in tech support and the closest to that we were allowed to say was "give me some time to look into that" and we HAD to actually look into it. We always had to get back to them with a real answer. If you couldn't find one, you ask your team, then manager, then department head, and so on all the way up to the owner if need be. To be fair, I never heard of anyone having to go that far but the department head happened a decent amount of times for really big issues.
I miss that company a LOT.

[naednek]

They claim 3 case managers have been communicating with me (who knows as nobody sign their names) state that I'm responsible to replace despite me showing them where in the lease that it says otherwise.

Now it's being escalated and that they are going to call me with 2 to 3 business days...
I'm not holding breath.

Now I'm about ready to get a lawyer involved and I don't want to as this should be a slam dunk.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[Punisher]

I wonder if that was actually a mistake in the original or ot wasn't a mistake but now they found that it's costing them too much to actually do the replacements.
Maybe they ate yrying to get out of it by changing the lease and hoping nobody will notice it.
Also, a lot of attorneys will give you a free consult or minimal cost consult to let you kniw what a case will cost and their ideas on your chances of winning.
However if you aren't going to remove it then I don't see how it matters.
If they remove that clause in the new lease I don't think they have to keep honoring the old once you sign it.

[Zaxxon]

Not directing this at naednek specifically, but this incident is a prime example of why leasing panels is generally not recommended.

[The Meal]

Production: September 12, 2019 - September 11, 2023: 46.9 MWh

[Zaxxon]

Production: September 12, 2019 - September 11, 2023: 46.9 MWh

74.9 MWh here, since 2014/2019.

[naednek]

I'm supposed to have sunpower panels removed on Nov 16th. I'm holding my breath that they will replace the solar tiles with tiles that match my roof.

In the meantime, I locked in new solar with Optimum Solar. It's a 7.38 kW system. 18 panels and an enphase battery. This battery won't be a backup, but I can schedule a time to discharge during higher buy back levels. This will help offset the monthly electric bills.

If sunpower does their job I should have the new panels installed in about 5 months assuming the permits don't take forever. Neighbor across the street said it tool them a year

We shall see.

Right now I'm financing but can switch to cash before the deal closes. I can shop around other loan providers to see if I can get a better rate than what optimum solar provides (8.99%) Anyone have any recommendations? I don't have the cash on hand to use.

[naednek]

I'm supposed to have sunpower panels removed on Nov 16th. I'm holding my breath that they will replace the solar tiles with tiles that match my roof.

In the meantime, I locked in new solar with Optimum Solar. It's a 7.38 kW system. 18 panels and an enphase battery. This battery won't be a backup, but I can schedule a time to discharge during higher buy back levels. This will help offset the monthly electric bills.

If sunpower does their job I should have the new panels installed in about 5 months assuming the permits don't take forever. Neighbor across the street said it tool them a year

We shall see.

Right now I'm financing but can switch to cash before the deal closes. I can shop around other loan providers to see if I can get a better rate than what optimum solar provides (8.99%) Anyone have any recommendations? I don't have the cash on hand to use.

And the panels are off! Was a bit crazy. We were supposed to have rain all week. The rain kept getting pushed out. Sunpower had thought they could take the panels down and have the roofers come over to check what tile I have then go find a similar tile and have it all installed the same day. I told them they were smoking some weird shit, cuz that's not going to work.

The roofer ended up calling me 2 days before the removal to see if they could stop by to see what I had. The guy said he's probably not going to be able to find an exact match as the tile isn't being manufactured. Most new tiles are now smooth style, mine are rigid. He was able to go to a tile place and found something similar, but slightly off on color. I said it was close enough and I'm getting new solar that will go over that and hide it.

Meanwhile, Sunpower is telling me they may need to postpone due to rain possibly coming. I told him to hold off another day. The next day they tell me they are good to go. I call the roofer to confirm as I don't trust Sunpower's customer service. They tell me they still need to have the project approved and should know that afternoon. They called as promised and said they were good to go. The plan was to rip out solar on Thursday and put in the new tiles on Friday.

I shared that I was concerned about the possibility of rain overnight. He said if Sunpower will pay, he will send 2 guys over to the tarp after the solar is off. I was good with that.

So Thursday, the solar goes off, but no roofers are to be found. Thankfully Sunpower did bring a giant tarp and put the tarp up after everything was off. I've been checking the weather all day and it said no rain until Friday evening. Great!

At 5 pm I went to get the mail and I saw dark clouds heading my way. I check the weather apps, and sure enough a cell is coming right over our area. Surrounding areas nothing, but for me GREEN.

So panic ensues. Nothing I can do. It was supposed to rain at 9 pm. We checked the app again around 8:30 and all of a sudden no rain forecasted! It was dry all night and all day today until 5 pm.

Roofers had 40 extra tiles (they would have had 60, but some broke on the way, and as they were laying, apparently I had some broken tiles elsewhere. They left the 40 tiles for me and said I would need it when the new solar comes in because the installers will break some.

I had my new solar in contract, but on hold, and gave them the go-ahead to schedule a site visit. They are coming next week. Hopefully, there are no extra unforeseen changes that may increase costs. Tonight and tomorrow we'll see how well they replaced my roof

Here's a picture of the finished roof. You can see the mismatch, but it's not too bad.

not sure why the image won't load, if you click on the enlarge image you should be able to see it in a new tab\page

[naednek]

I have solar! Well sort of. Now I'm waiting on permits and inspections.

Dealing with the critter guard issue. I noticed there's quite the gap in places. I spent an extra 1k for them to install. I called to complain was told I needed 8inch mesh not 6. Field supervisor said if I get 8, the mesh will stick up above the panel.

Trying to figure out my options.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

[Exodor]

The Rooftop Solar Industry Could Be on the Verge of Collapse

Some of the nation’s biggest public solar companies are struggling to stay afloat as questions arise over the viability of the financial products they sold to both consumers and investors to fund their growing operations.

the residential solar industry is floundering. In late 2023 alone, more than 100 residential solar dealers and installers in the U.S. declared bankruptcy, according to Roth Capital Partners—six times the number in the previous three years combined. Roth expects at least 100 more to fail. The two largest companies in the industry, SunRun and Sunnova, both posted big losses in their most recent quarterly reports, and their shares are down 86% and 81% respectively from their peaks in January 2021. (This isn’t because of an economy-wide trend; the S&P 500 has grown 26% over the same time period.) Sunnova is also under the microscope for having received a $3 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy while facing numerous complaints about troubling sales practices that targeted low-income and elderly homeowners. Another solar giant, SunPower, saw shares plunge 41% on Dec. 18 after it said that it may not be able to continue to operate because of debt issues. Sunlight Financial, a big player in the solar finance space, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October; it also faces a lawsuit alleging that the company made false and misleading statements about its financial well-being.

Long piece from Time about the scummy tactics by many solar companies.

[Isgrimnur]

Gold Rushers gonna gold rush.

[Punisher]

So what happens if I get a solar install and then the company goes out of business?

[em2nought]

Dealing with the critter guard issue. I noticed there's quite the gap in places.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Does that mesh keep the critters from nesting in there, or from getting in and chewing on wires? Keeps out flying insects looking to build a new home? Those gaps do look substantial.

Shame you didn't texture coat the garage walls and paint before they did all that, gonna be harder to do now.

[gilraen]

It's not intended to keep insects out, just bigger critters, like squirrels and birds. We didn't get critterguard initially, and squrrels chewed through the wires. Combined with the solar company having terrible customer service, we were without solar for almost 4 months before it was repaired.

[naednek]

Dealing with the critter guard issue. I noticed there's quite the gap in places.

Sent from my Pixel 7 Pro using Tapatalk

Does that mesh keep the critters from nesting in there, or from getting in and chewing on wires? Keeps out flying insects looking to build a new home? Those gaps do look substantial.

Shame you didn't texture coat the garage walls and paint before they did all that, gonna be harder to do now.

We had them replace it with a different sized mesh.

We don't hang out in the garage much and don't see a need to texture the walls.

[naednek]

Well today was the day I activated my new solar system. Now I'm just waiting for the solar company or monitoring company to send me a link to their app so I can register. I actually have the app installed, but it sounds like I need to have a unique URL to register.

Started the talks late Oct, activated mid\late Feb.

[Zaxxon]

Woot.