Solar Consumer Finance

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Bradley’s Solar Consumer Finance team offers companies and financial institutions involved in consumer solar energy finance a unique blend of legal services, providing comprehensive counsel to meet the demands and requirements of this evolving renewable energy industry. Our interdisciplinary team combines extensive real-world experience in residential and distributed solar energy production and consumer finance to provide practical and strategic legal advice so that our clients can achieve their business objectives, meet regulatory obligations, and reduce legal risks.

Our Solar Consumer Finance team prioritizes understanding the nuances of your business and operations so that our attorneys can provide actionable legal counsel. We believe that top-notch legal work product is not just getting the answer right — it is getting the right answer in a way that you can act on it.

We have worked with all types of lenders that provide solar energy financing, including banks and direct solar loan lenders, as well as developers, technology companies, contractors, subcontractors, and vendors involved in solar energy system sales, installation, and operation. Our experience includes drafting and reviewing homeowner installation contracts, solar leasing agreements and power purchase agreements. We also have experience counseling on related consumer products, from smart home electrification products to battery energy storage products. We have counseled clients at every stage of the cycle, including standing up new financing relationships with financial institutions, onboarding new installation partners, drafting policies and procedures, reviewing financing agreements, counseling clients on their servicing and collection activities, and advising clients on responding to installer bankruptcies.

Our clients trust that when they retain Bradley’s Solar Consumer Finance team, they are working with attorneys who have specific experience in all aspects of the intersection between renewable energy and consumer finance. We also have access to Bradley’s deep bench of experience in related fields, including utility-scale solar development, finance, engineering, procurement, construction, and operation.

The attorneys on Bradley’s Solar Consumer Finance team have experience:

  • Advising clients regarding regulatory compliance issues in product offerings and promotional materials
  • Assisting clients in identifying legal and regulatory risks of promoting solar equipment sales regionally and nationally, through first-party and third-party financing
  • Helping clients mitigate legal and regulatory risks associated with performance and payment of installers
  • Identifying state licensing requirements for different facets of consumer finance and assisting clients in obtaining or maintaining those licenses
  • Performing compliance audits and reviews on loan servicers and other third-party service providers
  • Helping clients navigate compliance issues in the financed sale of solar products, including issues arising under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, and fair lending laws, including the Equal Credit Opportunity Act
  • Advising clients regarding data privacy and cybersecurity compliance relating to energy management and grid services
  • Assisting with lending due diligence inquiries for consumer solar agreements and products
  • Counseling nonbank clients on complying with the program requirements of financial institution lending partners
  • Drafting and reviewing service contracts between clients and service providers, including installers, other financial institutions, debt collection companies, and replacement installers.
  • Structuring agreements for compliance with federal and state laws, including public utility regulations, net metering laws, and solar-specific consumer disclosures
  • Developing data privacy policies and procedures for solar financing clients

Bradley’s Solar Consumer Finance team can help you:

  • Assess the state licensing needs for your business and your service providers and obtain the needed licenses
  • Audit or monitor your vendors and service providers for compliance with state and federal consumer financial protection laws
  • Manage the risks and consequences of service provider defaults and failures
  • Design products or sales processes compliant with laws, and minimize regulatory, legal, and reputational risks
  • Perform due diligence from a consumer financial law standpoint as part of a merger or acquisition or the engagement of a new investor or service provider
  • Provide counsel regarding compliance policies and procedures relating to consumer protection laws
  • Assist with reviewing and auditing consumer financial products for use in accessing capital markets
  • Respond to regulatory requests for information or enforcement actions
  • Prepare for regulatory examinations and inquiries
  • Manage and advise regarding strategic solutions to litigation risk and trends in distributed generation
  • Respond to consumer and regulatory complaints and represent clients facing private litigation and public enforcement actions