An electronic mail notified workers of US residential installer Titan Solar that the corporate is ending operations.
From pv journal USA
Titan Solar Power, a residential photo voltaic installer based in 2013 in Arizona, despatched an electronic mail to its workers informing them that it had didn’t promote the corporate to potential consumers and would completely shut its doorways.
Titan is likely one of the largest residential photo voltaic installers within the nation, with 1000’s of installations in 16 states. It shortly grew by its Solar Dealer program, a community of partnerships with gross sales organizations that promote Titan companies, whereas Titan focuses on installations. The partnership is predicated on a pricing mannequin the place Titan fees a charge for mission completion, and distributors retain the remaining steadiness as a gross sales fee.
“Despite these successes, the corporate has confronted criticism for its enterprise practices, manufacturing, and customer support, which has led to many damaging evaluations and authorized disputes,” mentioned Ara Agopian, CEO. government officer, Solar Insure.
Solar Insure, a number one residential photo voltaic insurance coverage supplier, says the reliance on third-party distributors for gross sales has created a layer of separation from Titan and its clients, resulting in communication gaps and inconsistent service experiences. The insurance coverage supplier maintains a listing of photo voltaic bankruptcies and enterprise closings right here.
Titan mentioned it had been negotiating with a possible purchaser for six months, and the deal fell by on June 11, prompting administration to make the choice to shut operations. Solar Insure says the Federal Reserve’s fee hikes to curb inflation have inadvertently affected the photo voltaic sector by making borrowing costlier. This has led to decreased shopper demand for photo voltaic vitality techniques, as larger borrowing prices have decreased the attraction of photo voltaic as a cost-saving funding.
The larger rate of interest setting has led to elevated capital prices for installers, elevated threat in photo voltaic lending packages and strained working money flows. This troublesome monetary setting is exacerbated by coverage modifications in key markets equivalent to California, which reduce photo voltaic export compensation charges in its transfer to Net Energy Metering (NEM) 3.0.
Solar Insure mentioned that whereas Titan’s vendor community enterprise mannequin is profitable, it has confirmed to be a double-edged sword. The major motivation of salespeople within the gross sales group is to extend their commissions, which typically results in aggressive gross sales techniques and overselling techniques with out adequate consideration for particular buyer wants. , like this.
“This disconnect between gross sales guarantees and set up realities additional strained Titan’s sources and buyer relationships. As financial situations tightened and borrowing prices elevated, monetary strain on Titan elevated. and its distributors, exacerbating money movement points and operational inefficiencies,” Agopian mentioned.
Titan Solar clients are actually in a scenario the place their 25 yr labor guarantee is void. Solar Insure gives a program known as Solar Detectdesigned to assist householders left by a bankrupt photo voltaic contractor with long-term service upkeep contracts.
Find out extra pv journal USA reporting collection on residential photo voltaic chapter and enterprise closure.
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