Regulators Crack Down on a Troubled New York Solar Company

Some complaints echoed the story of Claver Campbell, a Queens homeowner and retiree who sued the company and its partners last fall. As New York Focus reported at the time, Campbell found herself on the hook for a $160,000 loan — with monthly payments three times higher than she’d been led to believe — after she responded to an enticing Facebook ad and a SUNco salesperson came twice to her home to close the deal. Her lawsuit accused the company of “fraudulent, deceptive, and abusive business practices,” as well as discrimination by age and race.

Attyx is one of seven energy companies set to lose their license to operate under a string of rulings announced last Thursday by the PSC. Most of the companies had simply failed to file required paperwork, according to the rulings. But regulators singled out Attyx for its years-long pattern of bad behavior.

A February letter to the company from the Department of Public Service, the state agency that works alongside the PSC, cited three formal complaints it received from customers, all of which involved the company and its affiliates offering a “no cost” roof and using “high-pressure” sales pitches to enroll customers. At least one of the deals resulted in an unfavorable loan agreement to pay for the rooftop solar installation, the letter said, much like Campbell’s.

Since September, more than 25 readers have contacted New York Focus alleging negative experiences with solar companies; at least a dozen of the complaints involved SUNco or Attyx. (New York Focus has not yet verified the allegations.) The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Campbell in court, has also received numerous additional complaints since filing her case, according to its attorneys.

The PSC’s move is not definitive. Attyx still has 30 days to rebut the state’s allegations, and even if the commission upholds Tuesday’s findings, it could take months to revoke the company’s license. The company is, however, prohibited from signing up new customers in the meantime.

The ruling notes that Attyx had faced scrutiny from state authorities since as early as 2021, when it was still called SUNco.

In June 2021, less than a year after approving the company for state subsidies, New York’s energy research and development arm, NYSERDA, put it on probation over inadequate disclosures to customers. That November, NYSERDA barred SUNco from the subsidy program altogether — but the company continued to use a state logo in its sales agreements, until NYSERDA finally sent it a cease and desist letter almost a year later, according to the PSC. Documents that Legal Aid obtained through a public records request show that NYSERDA received close to 50 customer complaints about Attyx between 2020 and 2024.

Attyx’s general counsel, Kyle Reeder, said the company was still reviewing the PSC’s ruling. “We remain committed to working constructively with the Department of Public Service to address any concerns,” he told New York Focus in an email.

The New York enforcement action comes at a frantic time for the solar industry. Under President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” signed on July 4, homeowners have only until the end of this year to take advantage of the 30 percent federal tax credit that has for decades fueled adoption of rooftop solar. The industry has relied heavily on door-to-door sales and other marketing tactics, and the bill’s passage has led some companies to step up their sales pitches in the hopes of installing as many panels as they can before the deadline.

Chris Fasano, Legal Aid’s lead attorney in Campbell’s case, worries this could encourage bad actors.

“There’s gonna be this pressure, I think, from the scammers to try to squeeze the last juice out of this scam that they can,” he said.