On August 7, the U.S. Department of Treasury hosted a virtual briefing to discuss the steps that the Biden-Harris administration is taking to address perceived unfair and deceptive practices in the consumer solar energy industry. Deputy Secretary of Treasury Wally Adeyemo, along with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra, announced a new interagency consumer solar industry initiative directed at both sales and financing of residential systems. Each made statements about the unique effort to root out anti-competitive and sometimes-fraudulent activity by a handful of “bad actors” who are taking advantage of the burgeoning industry. The presenters also noted that they will be coordinating with state attorneys general (AG) and state financial regulators.
The regulators recognized that the consumer solar energy industry is primarily comprised of companies acting in good faith to democratize the use of solar energy across the U.S. The regulators share the goal of increased consumer access to solar energy, and developing a strong solar energy industry that can compete on a global scale. To date, the federal efforts have been successful, as reflected by the uptick in consumer utilization of federal incentives, such as tax credits, to grow the number of households who utilize solar panels to generate electricity. As many as 3.4 million consumers took advantage of incentives in 2023. A common theme of the comments was creating a fair and competitive market where honest firms are able to compete and dishonest firms are disincentivized.
Consumer education was another theme emphasized during the presentation, and following the presentation, all three agencies issued consumer advisories and education materials. Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo remarked that certain neighborhoods are provided with more options for consumer solar energy than others, and that some neighborhoods are more frequently the target of illegitimate players in the industry. Adeyemo noted the importance of providing educational materials to such communities in order to help them navigate the purchase of a consumer solar energy system. He called on the industry to assist in educating consumers and identifying illegitimate players to help regulators eliminate them from the marketplace.
All of the speakers encouraged coordination and communication between regulators at the federal, state, and local levels. Kahn highlighted the FTC’s partnerships with California in the Ygrene investigation and Arizona in the Solar Exchange investigation as examples of effective collaboration. Chopra noted that state and local regulators play a critical role. He noted that state AGs often have sharper legislative tools at their disposal than their federal counterparts, and are better positioned to enforce state law and return money to adversely affected communities.
The agencies highlighted the importance of two-way communication among federal, state, and local regulators. The FTC touted its nationwide complaint database as a resource for identifying potential bad actors and trends across the U.S. The CFPB requested that consumers and state regulators report complaints to the CFPB and FTC. According to regulators, such communication will assist in efficiently stopping illegal conduct and supporting honest companies engaged in the industry.
The roll out of the interagency partnership makes it clear that all three agencies will be increasing their investigations and enforcement activity in the consumer solar industry.
