Attorney General Keith Ellison has accused finance companies of hiding big fees while offering low interest rates to solar customers. The companies say they’re obeying the law.
By Walker Orenstein
The Minnesota Star Tribune
Below is a preview of the article. Please view the full article here: https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-homeowners-say-they-were-hit-with-massive-hidden-fees-when-going-solar/601177876
It was an interest rate so low that John Ahnemann felt he couldn’t turn it down.
So Ahnemann, a real estate agent living in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood, signed the paperwork last year for a $46,500 loan at 3.49% interest to put 17 solar panels on his house and garage.
“I have no idea how they’re able to do this,” he said, recalling his thinking at the time.
It wasn’t until after the panels were installed that Ahnemann found out. Financing the project inflated its price by roughly $13,000 with the inclusion of a “dealer fee,” he said
Ahnemann said the surcharge wasn’t properly disclosed ahead of time. His financing company disagrees. But Ahnemann and others have found an ally in Attorney General Keith Ellison.
Ellison is suing four prominent solar lending companies, accusing them of concealing and improperly charging $35 million in fees to Minnesotans since 2017. Ellison says artificially low interest rates discourage people from shopping around for better deals with traditional lenders.
“Unfortunately, there are some bad actors that have taken advantage of Minnesotan’s enthusiasm for doing good, as well as the public incentives created to make residential solar more affordable,” Ellison said in a statement.
The lending companies reject those claims and say their disclosures follow the law. The case hasn’t yet gone to trial.
Fast growing industry
Minnesota’s rooftop solar industry has grown quickly over the last decade. There are about 23,000 rooftop solar systems in the state, concentrated mostly in the Twin Cities, said Logan O’Grady, executive director of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industries Association.
Tax credits — extended by Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act and made more generous — and state policies have lowered the price of rooftop solar, prompting thousands to opt for cheaper and cleaner energy.
Along the way, the industry’s sales tactics have come under scrutiny by government regulators. The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in August issued an advisory focused in part on “predatory solar lending.”
Again, this was just a small portion of Walker’s article. Please view the full article here:
“Minnesota homeowners say they were hit with massive hidden fees when going solar.” Star Tribune, 21 Aug. 2024, https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-homeowners-say-they-were-hit-with-massive-hidden-fees-when-going-solar/601177876. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
