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Solar Lease Or PPA When The Company Is Gone

With a lease or a power purchase agreement, the panels on your roof belong to a company, not to you. When that company goes bankrupt, the agreement usually does not disappear. It gets sold. That changes who you call, but often not what you owe or what they owe you.

How These Agreements Work

The U.S. Treasury consumer advisory on solar leases explains that with a solar lease, a company installs the system and you sign a contract to use it, often for 20 years or more. You do not own the system, and the leasing company is generally responsible for maintenance. It also notes that your payment may be allowed to rise over time and that at the end of the lease you do not automatically own the system. Under a power purchase agreement, the Treasury advisory on power purchase agreements says an operating company installs the system and you agree to buy the electricity it produces for a set period, and that at the end you will not automatically own the system.

What Usually Happens In A Bankruptcy

The EnergySage guide to installer bankruptcy (updated January 7, 2026) says that when a company with lease or power purchase customers goes bankrupt, those agreements are typically among the most valuable assets the buyer acquires. In that situation it says your payment terms stay the same unless the agreement allows changes, the new company takes on maintenance and repair, and any production promise in the agreement remains in effect. If the company is not acquired right away, EnergySage suggests contacting it directly about the transition.

Two recent examples show how this plays out. The Sunnova closure and support page (last updated November 2, 2025) tells former Sunnova customers to keep paying as usual until SunStrong Management sends new instructions. For SunPower, see Help For SunPower Customers, which covers the SunStrong role for legacy leases.

What To Do

1. Find the current owner. Look at your most recent bill or bank draft. The name collecting your payment is usually the company that now holds the agreement.
2. Read the maintenance section. Find what the agreement says about repairs, response times, and any production promise. Highlight it.
3. Report problems in writing. Email or mail a description, the date it started, and production screenshots. Keep copies.
4. Read the default terms before withholding any payment. Get legal advice first, since the agreement decides what counts as a default.
5. Do not hire your own repair company without written approval from the system owner. You do not own the equipment.
6. Ask about selling your home. Find out whether the new owner allows a transfer to a buyer, and what paperwork it needs.

Questions To Ask The New Company

The Treasury advisory lists questions to ask before signing a lease. Several are just as useful after a sale: what happens if the system needs repair, replacement, or removal, what recourse you have if it is not repaired in a timely way, what happens if you sell the house or want to leave the contract, and what happens if a storm damages the system. The Contractors State License Board Solar Smart page also notes that lease payments may include an escalator clause and that selling a home during a lease can become challenging, since leases often require a buyout or an assumption by the buyer.

If Nobody Answers

The Treasury advisory points consumers to the FTC at ReportFraud.FTC.gov, to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for problems with a financial product, and to state consumer protection offices. Our state pages list agencies for several states, starting with California.

If you want a local service company to look at your system, describe it in the system check form. We name the one company before anyone contacts you.

Related: Installer Went Out Of Business, Solar Warranty Help, Help For Sunnova Customers.