Over the past few months, we’ve covered an ongoing scandal surrounding Florida solar panels manufactured and sold by ASP (a.k.a BlueChip Energy).  Most of our posts have documented the fallout based on our own experiences at USSolar Institute and much of the backlash from organizations like Underwriters Laboratories and Florida Power and Light (FPL).

Missing from these accounts are actual stories from the field – ordinary people who lost thousands of dollars on faulty solar kits and shoddy installations.  These are Florida citizens who believed in solar, took the plunge, and got burned.

Well today, we have a firsthand account of one family’s experience with BlueChip Energy.

 “They took my deposit and ran… I really don’t think

I’ll ever see a penny of the money I paid them.”

When Araminta G. and her husband decided to “go solar,” Abundant Energy came out to their home to do an on-site inspection and recommend a few options.  They were ready to sign a contract until a BlueChip Energy salesperson convinced them that their panels were vastly superior to anything else on the market.

Wanting to conduct due diligence, Araminta contacted FPL and learned that her installation would indeed be approved for grid connection.  In addition, the organization responsible for verifying solar panels for the Florida market had also given these solar kits the green light. (for more on the Florida Solar Energy Center and its “verification” process, click here).

Araminta gave BlueChip Energy a deposit in October after having been promised that her installation would be completed by the 1st of December.

January went by.  Then February.  And Araminta began calling and emailing BlueChip Energy to see what was going on (side note: we can relate to this here at Florida Solar One, having invested untold hours trying to reach out to BlueChip Energy – to no avail).

When Araminta finally got them on the phone, she was promised different panels from the ones she had originally been sold.  Although she didn’t know it at the time, these replacement panels were the very ones that would eventually be recalled and taken off the market.

Fortunately, she refused to accept replacements of any kind, having been sold on a very specific configuration of Florida solar panels specially tailored for her property.

When BlueChip Energy then offered Araminta and her husband a kickback on the FPL rebate, she politely asked for a refund of her deposit.  Her rationale?  If the pre-sales support was this bad, what could she expect later down the line if and when repairs had to be made.

Sadly, her request for a refund went unanswered.  In her own words, “They took my deposit and ran… I really don’t think I’ll ever see a penny of the money I paid them.”

Although this has been an incredibly frustrating experience, Araminta remains thankful that she never went through with the installation, because she’d now have to uninstall these recalled panels (at a cost) before reinstalling better panels from a different company.

Unfortunately, there are hundreds of Florida residents who were not so lucky.

Araminta closes her experience saying, “I know I should have researched them myself and did not.  That part is my fault.”

On this particular point, we actually disagree.

BlueChip Energy fooled countless homeowners, business owners, and experienced contractors.  In fact, we even installed a few of their solar panel kits on our own rooftop and went through the same emailing and phone calling that Araminta experienced.

Due diligence is important, but the “fault” is not yours, Araminta.

As a private citizen, why would you ever question the authenticity of solar panels that had already been approved and certified by the Florida Solar Energy Center – the state agency responsible for testing panels?  After all, this is the very agency that gets paid in addition to using our tax dollars to test and certify solar panels sold within the Florida market?

I’m disappointed by the lack of protection that is supposed to prevent a scandal like this from surfacing.  But ultimately, I place the blame at BlueChip Energy’s feet.  They’re the ones that cheated everyone.  They’re the ones giving Florida solar contractors and installers a bad name.