New Orleans customers seek answers after solar panel installer PosiGen ceases most operations

Homeowners who signed long-term lease agreements with solar panel installer PosiGen are searching for answers after the Louisiana-based company laid off hundreds of workers and ceased most of its operations.

PosiGen, which has offices in seven states and is Louisiana’s largest solar company, notified state and local officials on Monday that it was laying off 166 employees at its facilities in Jefferson and St. Charles parishes, saying it defaulted on a credit line and couldn’t raise the long-term capital it needed amid rollbacks in federal renewable energy tax credits.

The news came as a shock to Iwona Leonard, who recently signed a 20-year lease agreement with PosiGen and had solar panels installed on the roof of her double in the Lower Garden District just last week.

Leonard said the person she reached on PosiGen’s customer service hotline told her they were “waiting for more information from the higher ups” on what the restructuring meant for customers.

“I’m very nervous,” Leonard said.

PosiGen’s founder and executive chairman, Tom Neyhart, did not respond to calls, texts and emails. Messages left with contacts listed in the company’s state filings were also not returned.

Founded in 2011, PosiGen specializes in marketing solar energy systems to low- to moderate-income households and rode a wave of state and federal solar credits that allowed it to grow quickly for much of the past decade.

But it said its ability to secure new investments, which were needed to fund recent expansions, were hampered by the passage in July of President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, which cancels certain renewable energy tax credits starting next year.

In early August, the Trump administration also terminated $7 billion in grants aimed at expanding access to solar energy for disadvantaged communities. Louisiana was awarded $156 million through the Solar for All program last year but was still waiting for federal approval of its workplan.

According to a letter to employees from CEO Peter Shaper that was obtained by trade publication Solar Power World, PosiGen wasn’t able to obtain enough financing to continue operating and would “dramatically reduce” the size of its workforce.

Jeff Cantin, who is the CEO of another New Orleans panel installer, Solar Alternatives, and also serves as board president of the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association, said some companies were preparing for the roll out of the federal grant program. PosiGen, he said, may have been left in a bind when it was canceled.

“The government created a program, announced it, started rolling it out, asked businesses to scale up for it and then pulled the rug out from under it,” said Cantin. “It’s fine if the administration wants to change priorities, but they need to acknowledge that businesses have responded to the government and need time to adapt.”

Under her contract with PosiGen, Leonard agreed to pay $60 per month each for two sets of solar panels, with no upfront cost and payments increasing $1 a year for the next 20 years.

In return, Leonard would be able to use the power generated to offset her electricity bill, which she said can sometimes cost as much as $600 per month. Entergy New Orleans also credits residents with rooftop solar for the excess power they produce for the grid.

Leonard is still waiting for Entergy and the city of New Orleans to inspect the panels. After that, PosiGen said it would turn them on remotely and begin sending her a monthly bill.

It’s unclear what comes next for PosiGen. The company told state officials that an additional 92 employees in Louisiana could be laid off in the next two weeks if it can’t find additional funding or a way to sell what remains of its business.

“It’s very uneasy not knowing who’s going to take over the lease,” Leonard said.