SunPower Corp., maker of widely used panels on Long Island, files for bankruptcy
Workers install SunPower solar panels on a home in Napa, California, in July 2023. SunPower filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Credit: Bloomberg/David Paul Morris
SunPower Corp., a branded supplier of one of the most widely used solar panels in the U.S. and on Long Island, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month, but customers are being told long-term warranties are being honored by its manufacturer, Maxeon.
Thousands of Long Islanders have been receiving letters in recent days alerting them to a bankruptcy filing by SunPower, a Richmond, California, solar-panel supplier that formerly manufactured the equipment before spinning off that division as Maxeon Solar Technologies. SunPower and Maxeon panels come with warranties of 25 to 40 years.
The issue is important because solar-panel customers pay tens of thousands of dollars for systems that are expected to last more than 20 years. Local installers say they’ve had extremely few defect issues with the panels but customers want reassurance.
SunPower has already begun the process of selling certain of its assets as it seeks court relief from debtors through Chapter 11, according to a financial filing. Long Island dealers said concerns about warranty coverage were addressed by Maxeon.
"In light of the unfortunate news regarding SunPower’s filing for bankruptcy protection ... we want to provide an update regarding warranty support for solar panels made by Maxeon Solar Technologies and supplied by SunPower," the company wrote in an Aug. 15 letter to installers.
“ ... If you own a SunPower system that includes SunPower-branded panels that are manufactured by Maxeon Solar Technologies, Maxeon will meet its warranty obligations for these solar panels," the letter states. Maxeon says it will contact SunPower customers "soon" to register the panels.
"It’s still objectively a very high-quality panel," said David Schieren, chief executive of EmPower Solar and one of SunPower’s largest Long Island customers. SunPower panels have local market share of 15%, he estimated in a Long Island market of well over 70,000 residential systems. The bankruptcy filing won’t have an impact on his business, Schieren said, as he transitions to using Maxeon-branded panels rather than SunPower-branded ones.
Solar-panel installers have experienced challenging times in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Sales initially surged after construction was permitted under state and federal rules, and homeowners focused on repairing their homes and working from home, which sent electric bills surging.
Solar panels can reduce electric bills down to a monthly service charge of just over $15 a month, but it can take from 5 to 7 years for the initial investment of $20,000 to $50,000 to pay for itself, even with federal tax credit of 30%, among other incentives. PSEG and the state offer further incentives for those who install a battery with their systems, and new time-of-use rates can lead to further rate savings.
"What you see in the sector today despite headwinds, demand has stabilized and the bright spot is adding batteries to solar power," said Schieren, who is also chairman of the New York State Solar Energy Industries Association, a business group.
John Rocchetta, vice president of GreenLogic Solar in Southampton, said he’d been receiving 20 to 50 emails a day from customers concerned about the bankruptcy filing and he’d forwarded the note from Maxeon to let customers know their panels remain under warranty.
"Maxeon is accepting responsibility," he said. GreenLogic, he added, sold more than 200,000 SunPower solar panels in the company’s 20-year history, and found only a handful that experienced a problem. "Maxeon is still the best panel produced," said Rocchetta.
Like other panel installers, GreenLogic saw the post-COVID sales bump drop off at the end of 2023 and early 2024, but business has rebounded, particularly as interest rates stabilize or appear set to decline. Most installers arrange long-term loans for customers who buy the panels, some using lower-interest state loans, or personal loans from banks.
SunPower Corp., a branded supplier of one of the most widely used solar panels in the U.S. and on Long Island, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month, but customers are being told long-term warranties are being honored by its manufacturer, Maxeon.
Thousands of Long Islanders have been receiving letters in recent days alerting them to a bankruptcy filing by SunPower, a Richmond, California, solar-panel supplier that formerly manufactured the equipment before spinning off that division as Maxeon Solar Technologies. SunPower and Maxeon panels come with warranties of 25 to 40 years.
The issue is important because solar-panel customers pay tens of thousands of dollars for systems that are expected to last more than 20 years. Local installers say they’ve had extremely few defect issues with the panels but customers want reassurance.
SunPower has already begun the process of selling certain of its assets as it seeks court relief from debtors through Chapter 11, according to a financial filing. Long Island dealers said concerns about warranty coverage were addressed by Maxeon.
WHAT TO KNOW
- SunPower Corp., a branded supplier of one of the most widely used solar panels on Long Island, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month.
- Customers are being told long-term warranties for the SunPower panels are being honored by its manufacturer, Maxeon.
- Panels supplied by SunPower and Maxeon come with warranties of 25 to 40 years.
"In light of the unfortunate news regarding SunPower’s filing for bankruptcy protection ... we want to provide an update regarding warranty support for solar panels made by Maxeon Solar Technologies and supplied by SunPower," the company wrote in an Aug. 15 letter to installers.
“ ... If you own a SunPower system that includes SunPower-branded panels that are manufactured by Maxeon Solar Technologies, Maxeon will meet its warranty obligations for these solar panels," the letter states. Maxeon says it will contact SunPower customers "soon" to register the panels.
"It’s still objectively a very high-quality panel," said David Schieren, chief executive of EmPower Solar and one of SunPower’s largest Long Island customers. SunPower panels have local market share of 15%, he estimated in a Long Island market of well over 70,000 residential systems. The bankruptcy filing won’t have an impact on his business, Schieren said, as he transitions to using Maxeon-branded panels rather than SunPower-branded ones.
Solar-panel installers have experienced challenging times in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic. Sales initially surged after construction was permitted under state and federal rules, and homeowners focused on repairing their homes and working from home, which sent electric bills surging.
Solar panels can reduce electric bills down to a monthly service charge of just over $15 a month, but it can take from 5 to 7 years for the initial investment of $20,000 to $50,000 to pay for itself, even with federal tax credit of 30%, among other incentives. PSEG and the state offer further incentives for those who install a battery with their systems, and new time-of-use rates can lead to further rate savings.
"What you see in the sector today despite headwinds, demand has stabilized and the bright spot is adding batteries to solar power," said Schieren, who is also chairman of the New York State Solar Energy Industries Association, a business group.
John Rocchetta, vice president of GreenLogic Solar in Southampton, said he’d been receiving 20 to 50 emails a day from customers concerned about the bankruptcy filing and he’d forwarded the note from Maxeon to let customers know their panels remain under warranty.
"Maxeon is accepting responsibility," he said. GreenLogic, he added, sold more than 200,000 SunPower solar panels in the company’s 20-year history, and found only a handful that experienced a problem. "Maxeon is still the best panel produced," said Rocchetta.
Like other panel installers, GreenLogic saw the post-COVID sales bump drop off at the end of 2023 and early 2024, but business has rebounded, particularly as interest rates stabilize or appear set to decline. Most installers arrange long-term loans for customers who buy the panels, some using lower-interest state loans, or personal loans from banks.
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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