North Bay Solar Electric Filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Here’s What California Homeowners Should Do

North Bay Solar Electric Filed Chapter 7 Bankruptcy. Here’s What California Homeowners Should Do

If you had solar installed by North Bay Solar Electric, you may already know something’s wrong, or you may be about to find out. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on October 15, 2026, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of California, case number 1:26-bk-10790.



Here’s what a Chapter 7 filing means, what it doesn’t mean, and what to do next.

What we know so far

The filing is recent, and public bankruptcy databases currently show only the basics: the case number, the court, the filing date, and the Chapter 7 designation. We don’t yet have details on the company’s service area, how many homeowners are affected, or what led to the filing. We’ll update this page as more becomes public.

Chapter 7 means the business has stopped, not paused

Unlike a Chapter 11 reorganization, where a company keeps operating while it restructures, a Chapter 7 filing means the business is being liquidated. A trustee takes over, sells what’s left of the company’s assets, and distributes the proceeds to creditors in a set legal order. There’s no “North Bay Solar Electric” left to answer your calls, honor a workmanship warranty, or finish a job that was left incomplete.

We’ve seen this pattern before with other installers. Both Titan Solar Power and Freedom Forever ended in Chapter 7 liquidations, and the aftermath looked the same in both cases: the installer disappeared, but homeowners’ loans, liens, and unfinished systems didn’t.

What survives the bankruptcy

• Your system keeps working. A bankruptcy doesn’t shut off panels already installed, and you still own the equipment if you purchased it.
• Manufacturer warranties. Panel, inverter, and battery warranties come from the manufacturer, not the installer, so they generally survive even when the installer doesn’t. You’ll likely need a different licensed contractor to file a warranty claim on your behalf.
• Your loan or lease. If you financed your system, your obligation to the lender or lessor continues. The installer’s bankruptcy doesn’t cancel it. A recent industry study of 91 solar company failures since 2022 put it plainly: installers rarely hold the loans they sell, so when the installer goes bankrupt, the loan does not go away.
• Any UCC lien on your home. If a lender recorded a UCC-1 financing statement tied to your system, that filing doesn’t disappear with the installer either. See our solar lien guide.

What’s likely gone

• The company’s own workmanship warranty. This is a promise from North Bay Solar Electric specifically, and a liquidated company generally can’t honor it, outside of filing as an unsecured creditor claim, which rarely pays out much.
• Any unfinished installation work. If your system was mid-install when the company closed, you’ll need to find another licensed contractor to complete it. Check with your financing company first, since in some other installer bankruptcies, lenders have stepped in to help finish stranded projects.
• Responsive customer service, obviously.

What to do right now

1. Find your contract, proposal, and any financing paperwork. Pull everything together now, before records become harder to find.
2. Identify who actually holds your loan or lease. It’s very likely a separate company from North Bay Solar Electric. Our lender and servicer lookup guide walks through how to find out.
3. Document your system’s current condition. Photos of the installation, your monitoring app’s production data, and notes on anything that isn’t working.
4. Check the CSLB. Look up North Bay Solar Electric’s contractor license on the CSLB license lookup to see its status and any complaint history, and consider filing a complaint of your own. CSLB’s restitution fund is closed to new claims, as we explain in our guide to what homeowners can still do after an installer fails, but the complaint process itself is still active.
5. Keep paying your loan or lease while you sort this out. Missed payments can hurt your credit and create separate problems that have nothing to do with the bankruptcy. See what cancellation does to your credit for how payment history is reported.
6. If your system is underperforming, our guide to proving a solar production shortfall explains how to measure it against what you were promised.

If you’re mid-sale or thinking about selling

A bankrupt installer can complicate a home sale if there’s an outstanding lien or an unfinished installation. See our guide to selling a home with solar panels in California for what to check before you list.

Questions about the North Bay Solar Electric bankruptcy

Does my solar loan go away because the installer went bankrupt?

No. Your financing agreement is a separate contract with a separate company, usually a bank or a specialty lender, and the installer’s bankruptcy doesn’t cancel it.

Will someone finish my installation if it wasn’t done?

Not automatically. Check with whoever financed the system, since lenders in other installer bankruptcies have sometimes arranged for stranded installations to be completed. Otherwise, you’ll need to hire a separate licensed contractor.

Is my equipment warranty gone too?

Generally not. Panel, inverter, and battery warranties come from the manufacturers, not the installer, and typically survive an installer’s bankruptcy. You’ll likely need a different contractor to help file a claim.

Had solar installed by North Bay Solar Electric, or dealing with any bankrupt installer’s aftermath?

Send us your contract and your latest loan or lease statement and we’ll tell you where you stand, usually in one 15-minute call.

Call (213) 579-5156 or visit californiasolarexit.com.

By Daniel Merritt, Senior Solar Contract Analyst

Daniel Merritt is a Senior Solar Contract Analyst at California Solar Exit. This article is general information, not legal advice, and results depend on the facts of each contract.