Ad
Featured
Here are tips to get rooftop solar without getting burned
Xavier Jaquez, left, John Rosa and Dimetri Rede — who work with homegrown installation company New Mexico Solar Group— install panels on an Albuquerque home in July.
Published
Modified
The sun is a rising star in global efforts to lower carbon emissions and slow climate change, and it’s something consumers everywhere can embrace.
For New Mexico homeowners in particular, it’s a great time to invest in rooftop solar systems. A combination of federal and state tax incentives can cut costs by up to 40%. And, if working properly and correctly installed, those systems can lead to significant energy savings over time, while simultaneously allowing consumers to contribute to a more healthy environment.
In addition, with “community solar” projects nearing deployment in New Mexico, many more people — such as those who rent rather than own their home dwellings — could soon sign up to offset their energy bills through collective solar-generating facilities that serve whole neighborhoods and communities around the state.
But the devil is always in the details, and the key to a positive solar experience requires careful consumer consideration before signing a contract that can lock a homeowner into a 20- to 25-year purchasing agreement. That’s especially true today, with some companies aggressively blanketing neighborhoods in Albuquerque and other urban and rural zones through door-to-door marketing campaigns that employ high-pressure tactics to get consumers to sign contracts on the spot.
Not all sales pitches are deceptive. But homeowners should exercise healthy skepticism when solar comes knocking, because, unfortunately, some industry peddlers looking to make a quick buck can turn a potentially positive, sunny experience into a nightmare for uneducated buyers who sign on the dotted line without first shopping around to compare offers.
Examples of deceptive marketing and bad deals abound, as outlined in the Journal’s two-part investigative report published Sunday and Monday. In fact, many of the shady sales tactics seen in New Mexico are mirror reflections of scandals widely reported — and in some cases prosecuted — in other states.
Minnesota’s Attorney General, for example, sued four Utah-based solar companies and three lending institutions last year for deceptive and fraudulent marketing practices. The 59-page complaint — on which The Utah Investigative Journalism Project reported in July in partnership with the Deseret News — outlined deliberately deceptive strategies that companies allegedly taught to their sales teams to gain customer trust and access to people’s homes.
Marketers, for instance, frequently presented themselves as “energy consultants” who work with local utility companies, rather than solar salespeople, according to the complaint. And they often wore fluorescent utility vests to promote that image.
Those same tactics are occurring here, where one Albuquerque homeowner caught a solar salesperson on video through a security camera attached to his front door.
In the video, viewed by the Journal, a young salesman wearing a yellow fluorescent utility vest and carrying a large notebook with Public Service Co. of New Mexico’s logo on it, tells the homeowner that he’s with an “energy savings program” and that he’s “not selling anything.”
Ad
He then opens the notebook to show some PNM bills and charts, and say he wants to check if the homeowner qualifies for PNM’s net metering program.
“If you qualify, your bill drops 30%,” he tells the homeowner.
In fact, anyone who installs a certified solar system on their home qualifies for net metering, whereby PNM credits homeowners back on their bills for any excess electricity produced by their rooftop systems, which is sent to the grid for use by other PNM customers. And that program has no relation to a solar customer’s bill dropping 30%.
The salesperson also told the homeowner that different neighborhoods qualify for different types of renewable energy, including hydro and wind generation, and that the homeowner is fortunate to live in an area that qualifies for solar. He then makes an appointment to return with an engineer to determine if the homeowner qualifies for solar and net metering.
Many door-to-door campaign teams also focus on rising utility rates to sell solar systems, often greatly exaggerating how costs may escalate going forward to embellish the potential energy savings from solar.
One Nob Hill homeowner recorded two salesmen from a California-based company who blamed PNM for causing last year’s McBride fire in Ruidoso by failing to adequately maintain electric wires and equipment and not following electric safety codes. They told the homeowner that the fire caused $1 billion in damages and that all PNM customers are now paying for it.
In fact, the official cause of the fire was determined to be a drought-stressed tree that fell on power lines.
After listening to the recording and interviewing the homeowner, the Journal called one of the salesmen, who promptly hung up when told the purpose of the call.
Consumers interested in solar systems can find very good deals, and not all door-knocking salespeople are bad. But homeowners should carefully scrutinize all terms and conditions before signing anything, research company reputations online, and, most important, always shop around among local solar businesses to consult and compare, said New Mexico Renewable Energy Industries Association Executive Director Jim DesJardins.
“Whether you’re purchasing an auto, remodeling your kitchen or buying a solar system, you should always get more than one quote, and I don’t think people are doing that,” DesJardins told the Journal.
If you believe you are the victim of a solar scam, report it to the Attorney General’s Office, and consider seeking legal help, said Patrick Greibel of Marrs Greibel Law Ltd., which is working with homeowners to reverse adverse contracts.
“There’s a four-year statute of limitations from the point when you discover you’ve been lied to,” Greibel told the Journal. “You can go to a lawyer and file a claim.”
