Attorney General Ellison takes actions to protect consumers from deceptive conduct in the solar industry
Ellison obtains four new settlements with multiple entities regarding deceptive practices and misleading residential solar panel advertisements
July 17, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today the filing of four more settlements against solar installers and advertisers. The first two settlements prohibit Kris Sipe and Trevor Sumner, the founders of Sun Badger Solar, from doing business in Minnesota in the future. The settlements, both of which are termed Assurances of Discontinuance, are a product of the Attorney General’s investigation into Sun Badger, which revealed that Sun Badger failed to install promised solar arrays and forced consumers to renegotiate the interest rates on their solar loans due to delays by Sun Badger. The company entered receivership, a local form of bankruptcy, in its home state of Wisconsin, where the receiver determined that there were insufficient funds to refund consumers. Notably, prior to founding Sun Badger, Sipe and Sumner were employees of Able Energy, a company that swindled over $1 million from consumers by charging them for work that was never completed.
Two additional Assurances were reached with EnergyBillCruncher and Prospect Bacon, two lead generators that advertised on Facebook and elsewhere, then sold consumer data to local solar installers. Both companies, the Attorney General alleged, published advertisements that contained factually-incorrect statements intended to entice consumers into providing their information to solar installers and, eventually, buying a residential solar system. The Assurances require the companies to not make further misrepresentations in advertising in Minnesota.
“Green energy is essential for our future, and I am pleased to see that Minnesotans are embracing it so readily,” Attorney General Ellison said. “My Office will continue to protect Minnesotans who are victimized while trying to do the right thing for the environment. I have no tolerance for bad actors who take advantage of the good will of Minnesotans.”
These four settlements are the latest in a series of enforcement actions taken by Attorney General Ellison to protect solar energy consumers in Minnesota. In March 2024, Attorney General Ellison filed a lawsuit against the four market-leading, solar lending companies doing business in Minnesota for deceiving customers into taking out loans based on the companies’ false promises of low interest and disguised hidden fees that increased the costs to borrowers by between 15-30%. In February 2024, Attorney General Ellison obtained $85,000 in restitution for community solar garden customers that were charged unlawful early termination fees. And in 2022 and 2023, the Office sued and obtained consent judgments against solar installers, their owners, and their lenders, returning over $300,000 to the pockets of impacted consumers.
The Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association (MnSEIA) gave its 2022 Agency Excellence Recognition Award to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office in recognition of the Office’s work in holding bad actors in the solar industry to account.
Consumers interested in learning more about their home solar-energy options should consult the Attorney General’s publication, “Residential Solar Systems” the Minnesota Department of Commerce webpage “Guidance for planning and installing your own solar energy system,” and the Better Business Bureau publication “A Consumer’s Guide to Going Solar,” which all offer tips to consumers who are considering solar.
Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesotans to submit complaints about their experiences with solar advertisers, installers, or lenders by filing a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office via its online complaint form. Minnesotans can also call the Office at (651) 296-3353 from within the Twin Cities or (800) 657-3787 from Greater Minnesota.
