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Residential Solar Financing Fraud: Key Statistics
Every figure on this page is attributed to a government agency, a published research report, or a court filing. Nothing here is a Bennett Legal estimate. If a number cannot be traced to a primary source, it is not on this page.
Last updated July 2026 · Reviewed quarterly
| Figure | Value | What it measures & source |
|---|---|---|
| Texas AG complaint surge | 818% | Growth in solar panel complaints filed with the Texas Attorney General's office, 2018–2023.Texas Appleseed, October 2024 |
| FTC complaint surge | 746% | Growth in solar-related consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission nationwide, 2018–2023.Texas Appleseed, October 2024 |
| TDLR complaint surge | 576% | Growth in solar complaints to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, 2018–2023.Texas Appleseed, October 2024 |
| Texas counties affected | 141 | Of Texas's 254 counties, the number whose residents filed solar panel complaints with the Attorney General — evidence the practices are statewide, not local.Texas Appleseed, October 2024 |
| Misleading-statement share | 45% | Share of reviewed Texas solar complaints citing false or misleading statements. A further 37% cited unsatisfactory service.Texas Appleseed, October 2024 |
| Hidden dealer fee | 10–30% | Typical hidden fee as a share of the system's cash price. The CFPB found these can exceed 50%.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, August 2024 |
| Loan principal inflation | 30%+ | The amount by which some lenders' markups and fees raise the loan principal above the cash price — often without disclosing that the amount is a markup.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, August 2024 |
| Loan term range | 8–25 yrs | Typical residential solar loan term. Stated APRs run 1–7%, which looks low precisely because the fees that inflate the principal sit outside the rate.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, August 2024 |
| Direct mail to seniors | 2.8M | Solar financing mail advertisements sent to adults aged 60 and older, 2021–2023, out of 8.4 million total pieces.Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, August 2024 |
| Minnesota AG action | $35M | Alleged concealed fees across more than 5,000 Minnesota solar purchases, against four lenders, with most fees alleged to raise borrower costs 15–30%. The allegations are unproven and the companies deny misconduct.Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, March 8, 2024 |
| New York AG action | $275M | Alleged revenue from roughly 4,500 installations, in a suit against an installer and two lenders alleging seniors and low-income homeowners were targeted. The allegations are unproven.Office of the New York State Attorney General, March 17, 2026 |
| Major insolvencies | 5 | Titan Solar Power (Chapter 7, June 2024), SunPower and Lumio (Chapter 11, 2024), Sunnova and Solar Mosaic (Chapter 11, June 2025). Homeowner loan obligations continued while warranties issued by the failed companies were impaired.PV Tech, June 10, 2025 |
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Bennett Legal, "Residential Solar Financing Fraud: Key Statistics," updated July 2026. https://bennettlegal.com/press/solar-financing-fraud-statistics/HTML link — for web publication
<a href="https://bennettlegal.com/press/solar-financing-fraud-statistics/">Bennett Legal — Residential Solar Financing Fraud: Key Statistics</a>APA — for academic and policy use
Bennett Legal. (2026). Residential Solar Financing Fraud: Key Statistics. https://bennettlegal.com/press/solar-financing-fraud-statistics/Three things reporters most often miss
The harm is in the financing, not the hardware
A working solar array on a fraudulently financed loan is still a 25-year problem. The fee that creates most of the damage is added to the principal before the panels ever arrive.
Insolvency shifts the loss onto the homeowner
When an installer liquidates, workmanship warranties are impaired but loan obligations continue. The homeowner keeps paying; the entity that made the promises is gone.
Almost none of this is visible in court records
Arbitration clauses move these disputes into private forums with no public docket. That is why complaint counts at the FTC, CFPB, state attorneys general, and TDLR are the only reliable public measure of scale.
Sources
Primary agency documents, published research, official press releases, court filings, and named trade-press reporting.
- Texas Appleseed, Dimming the Benefits of Residential Solar in Texas (October 2024). www.texasappleseed.org/dimming-benefits-residential-solar-texas
- Texas Appleseed, New Report Reveals Financial Damage Stemming from Solar Panel Fraud in Texas (October 2024). www.texasappleseed.org/new-report-reveals-financial-damage-stemming-solar-panel-fraud-texas
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing (August 2024). www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/research-reports/issue-spotlight-solar-financing/
- Office of the Minnesota Attorney General, Attorney General Ellison sues solar lenders over $35M in deceptive hidden fees (March 8, 2024). www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Communications/2024/03/08_SolarLending.asp
- Office of the New York State Attorney General, Attorney General James Sues Home Solar Power Company and Lenders for Cheating New Yorkers Out of Hundreds of Millions of Dollars (March 17, 2026). ag.ny.gov/press-release/2026/attorney-general-james-sues-home-solar-power-company-and-lenders-cheating-new
- PV Tech, Sunnova, Mosaic file Chapter 11 bankruptcy (June 10, 2025). www.pv-tech.org/sunnova-mosaic-file-chapter-11-bankruptcy/
- U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, In re Titan Solar Power, Inc. and its affiliates (Chapter 7) (Filed June 20, 2024). www.azb.uscourts.gov/re-titan-solar-power-inc-and-its-affiliates
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Residential Solar Retailers — What's in Effect When (Updated 2026). www.tdlr.texas.gov/residential-solar-retailers/effect.htm
- Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Residential solar retail sales now regulated by TDLR (September 10, 2025). www.tdlr.texas.gov/news/2025/09/10/residential-solar-retail-sales-now-regulated-by-tdlr
- Texas Legislature, Senate Bill 1036 bill analysis, 89th Legislature (2025). capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/SB01036S.htm
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