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Facts checked Oct 31, 2026

My solar installer left my New Jersey project unfinished. What now?

What the NJ Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) and the NJ Clean Energy Program (NJCEP) say about customers whose installer stopped answering, with a link for every claim.

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This page is about projects in New Jersey’s Successor Solar Incentive (SuSI) program whose installer stopped work. Statements come from the NJBPU order of Feb 14, 2024, NJCEP’s Customer Guide (dated Jan 16, 2026) and NJCEP’s Trade Allies page, all read on Oct 31, 2026 and linked in Sources. “Our suggestion” lines are ours. OrphanSolarHelp is a directory, not a contractor or a law firm. We don’t perform, quote, supervise, or guarantee any work, and this is not legal advice.

What the Board did in February 2024

The Board’s order names three installers, Orbit Energy and Power, Zenernet and Vision Solar, as debarred from the program. It waives certain program rules for the customers of those installers (the order calls them “Affected Projects”) so the customers can finish their registrations with a new installer or on their own. It says the three together accounted for over 900 registrations pending in the ADI Program, and that the relief rests on the specific circumstances those petitioners described.[1] Suntuity’s customers get the same relief only if Suntuity ends up debarred, and not otherwise;[1] (unverified) we could not confirm whether that happened.

  • Deadlines. Net-metered projects normally have one year from conditional registration to get PTO and file the post-construction package. The order waives the deadline rules in N.J.A.C. 14:8-11.5(g) for Affected Projects, retroactive to the dates the violations occurred, and says customers who can’t meet the deadlines are encouraged to find a new installer and re-register.[1]
  • Construction before acceptance. The rule against starting construction before a registration is accepted (N.J.A.C. 14:8-11.4(b)) is waived for re-registrations of Affected Projects and for projects that got permission to operate (PTO) before acceptance.[1]
  • Signatures. The Board directs the program manager to accept the customer’s signature in place of the installer’s on registration forms and the post-construction package, based on a customer affidavit saying the customer didn’t install the system and relies on the missing installer’s work. The order says it does not address the signature requirements of electric utilities or local permitting authorities.[1]
  • SREC-II redemption window. The order waives the usual limit on redeeming SREC-IIs for Affected Projects: they may be redeemed in the energy year the NJ Certification Number was obtained or the next one, but never more than three years after the energy year in which the electricity was produced.[1]

Important: that relief is written for the customers of the named installers. If your installer is a different company, we have not verified that the same waivers apply to you. Ask the program before you rely on it (contact below).

What NJCEP tells stranded customers to do

1. Get proposals from at least three installers

NJCEP’s guide says it provides a list of installers that take part in the program’s Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) track for customers whose installer has become non-responsive or is no longer doing business in New Jersey, and encourages you to get proposals from at least three so you can compare quotes and services.[2] It says NJCEP records show these projects at different stages, from only an initial registration to PTO received with only the post-construction package left, and that NJBPU and its program administrator encourage distressed customers to seriously consider hiring a new installer.[2]

2. Use the “Assistance for Distressed Customers” category

In the Solar Trade Ally Database, the category “Assistance for Distressed Customers” was created for projects abandoned by their installer. Installers in it have asked to be listed and say they are willing and able to help stranded customers.[2] The Board authorized staff to add that category, and “Operations and Maintenance,” in the same order.[1] NJCEP’s Trade Allies page lists the requirements for the distressed-customer category as 10 installations, one that passed NJCEP inspection, and a Certificate of Good Standing.[3] The guide’s path to the list: NJCEP website, Resources, Trade Ally Database, Services, check “Solar.”[2] A second category, “Operations and Maintenance,” is for customers who want a contractor to maintain or repair a system after installation.[2] Our suggestion: a listing is not a DCA check. Verify any installer’s DCA registration or electrical license the same way you would for any contractor (step 6 of our guide).

3. Or finish the paperwork yourself

If your system is already installed, NJCEP’s guide says you can instead prepare and submit the documents on your own.[2]

4. How the registration works

It has two steps. Step 1 is an initial registration packet in the ADI online portal; once it is accepted, an acceptance letter allows 12 months from the date of conditional acceptance to complete the installation, get PTO from your utility and submit the final documents. Step 2 is the Final As-Built package, due in the portal on or before the expiration date in that letter. The PTO must be dated after the acceptance letter and before its expiration date.[2] After the post-construction package, the project gets an NJ Certification Number, which you need to register the system in PJM-EIS GATS (where SREC-IIs are created) and with InClime, the SREC-II Administrator, which exchanges SREC-IIs for payment.[2]

Questions to ask before you sign with a new installer

  • Will it handle the registration, the utility notice and the final package, and who signs each form? Our suggestion: get the answer in writing.
  • Does it already work with the program? NJCEP says to look at the Trade Ally category above.[2]
  • Is the contract written, with its DCA registration number, a start and end date, a total price and no demand for most of the money upfront? DCA says contracts over $500 must be written, and to be wary of a contractor who asks for more than a third of the total before work begins.[4]

What we have not verified

(unverified) Whether the Feb 2024 waivers apply to customers of installers other than the ones the order names. Whether Suntuity was debarred. Whether a re-registered project keeps its original incentive terms or is treated under the rules in force when it is re-registered. How your utility or town treats a customer signature. Ask [email protected] (the ADI program contact in NJCEP’s guide), your utility and an attorney. We are not a law firm.

Official New Jersey contacts

Phone numbers and emails below are as printed by these agencies in the pages we read on Oct 31, 2026. We are not affiliated with any of them.

Sources: NJCEP ADI Customer Guide (NJCEP, InClime, PJM-GATS), DCA complaint page, DCA consumer brief. Call to confirm a number before relying on it.

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Sources

  1. NJ Board of Public Utilities, Board Order, Feb 14, 2024 (agenda item 8F), waiving certain Successor Solar Incentive Program requirements for customers of debarred installers (PDF) — PDF read Oct 31, 2026
  2. NJ Clean Energy Program, SuSI Administratively Determined Incentive (ADI) Program “Customer Guide” (01.16.2026) (PDF) — PDF read Oct 31, 2026
  3. NJ Clean Energy Program, “Solar Trade Allies” — page read Oct 31, 2026
  4. NJ Division of Consumer Affairs, consumer brief “Hiring Home Improvement Contractors” (revised 01/13/25) — PDF read Oct 31, 2026
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