Why solar companies are going out of business.
Home solar is shrinking in 2026 because the federal homeowner solar credit ended. The IRS says the Section 25D credit is not allowed for any expenditure made after December 31, 2025, and the latest industry forecast expects residential solar installs to fall 23% this year. Installers that sold on cash and loans are struggling to switch to leases and power purchase agreements while homeowners take longer to decide.
Sources: IRS Fact Sheet FS-2025-05, August 21, 2025 · SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026. Facts checked October 25, 2026.
The credit ended. The forecast kept falling.
Every line below comes from a public source, with its date. We don’t name companies here.
- July 4, 2025
Public Law 119-21 is signed. It ends the Section 25D residential clean energy credit, the credit homeowners used to cut the cost of buying solar outright.
IRS Fact Sheet FS-2025-05, August 21, 2025 - December 31, 2025
The last day the credit applies. The IRS counts the expenditure when the install is completed, so a system paid for in 2025 but installed in 2026 does not qualify.
IRS Fact Sheet FS-2025-05, August 21, 2025 - Full year 2025
Installers rushed to finish jobs before the deadline. Residential solar still ended the year down 2% from 2024, at 4,647 MWdc installed.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review, March 10, 2026 - March 2026
The year-in-review forecast calls for a 19% residential contraction in 2026 following the 25D expiration.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight 2025 Year in Review, March 10, 2026 - First quarter 2026
Residential installs rise 6% from a year earlier, carried by overflow jobs started at the end of 2025 to capture the credit.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q2 2026, June 10, 2026 - June 2026
The forecast is cut to a 21% contraction. The report names a major installer’s bankruptcy, limited tax equity and updated permit data as the reasons.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q2 2026, June 10, 2026 - Second quarter 2026
Residential installs drop to 995 MWdc, down 12% from a year earlier and down 10% from the first quarter.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026 - September 2026
The forecast is cut again, to a 23% contraction in 2026. Growth is expected to return in 2027, at an average of 6% a year from 2027 to 2031.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026
The direction of the forecast is the story: a 19% drop expected in March, 21% in June, 23% in September. Each report expected a steeper 2026 drop than the one before.
Is door-to-door solar still a good job?
It’s a harder job than it was in 2025. The credit that cut the cost of buying a system is gone, so the sale now runs on leases and power purchase agreements, and how well that works depends on your company and your state.
Longer sales cycles
Installers report longer sales cycles and falling close rates, with homeowners citing personal finances and economic uncertainty.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026A different product to sell
With the homeowner credit gone, the industry is moving from cash and loan sales to third-party ownership: leases and power purchase agreements. Installers are having a hard time making that switch.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026It depends on the state
Prepaid lease products are available only in select states, and tax equity, the money behind leases, is scarce.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026Permits point lower
California and Illinois led the residential market in the second quarter, yet permits there fell 25% and 20%, which the report reads as a contraction ahead.
SEIA and Wood Mackenzie, Solar Market Insight Q3 2026, September 10, 2026If you’re staying in solar, ask your company two things: which lease or power purchase products it can sell in your state, and whether you’re paid when the system is installed or when the deal is signed.
Start with where it’s being built.
A door-to-door job is only as good as the streets you can sell on. Fiber internet works on a different clock from solar: no federal homeowner credit is part of the pitch, and a home can only buy it once a provider has built fiber to that street.
So the first question isn’t which company. It’s where fiber is going in. Our fiber growth report ranks the US cities where provider-reported fiber-serviceable homes grew the most between the June and December 2025 FCC filings, from public FCC data only.
The market only pays if the company does.
The product is half the job. The other half is the company you sell it for. Before you sign anywhere, get these answers in writing:
- How you’re paid, and on what event: the signed sale or the completed install
- When the money lands after that event, in writing
- What comes back if a customer cancels, and for how long
- Whether you have your own turf or share streets with other reps
- Where you see your own installs and pay statements
Here’s how RCLX answers them for T-Mobile Fiber:
- Reps work as 1099 independent contractors on 100% commission, earned on completed installs.
- Commission is paid on the payday RCLX is paid for the install.
- If a customer cancels within 120 days of the install, the commission on that one sale comes off your next check. After 120 days the install is locked and stays yours.
- Every rep works exclusive turf, so two reps are never put on the same street.
- Every rep gets a portal that shows their installs, their pipeline and a pay statement for every payday.
Bring the team with you.
A crew can come over together. We don't sign subcontractors. Crew owners sign direct with RCLX and run their team as a Market Manager, and every rep on the team signs their own RCLX contract.
A Market Manager earns on their own sales plus an override on the team's installs.
RCLX runs pay, the rep portal, training and payday for the whole team.
What people ask about solar in 2026.
Why are solar companies going out of business in 2026?
The federal homeowner solar credit (Section 25D) ended for any expenditure made after December 31, 2025. Without it, fewer homeowners buy, sales take longer, and installers built on cash and loan sales have to switch to leases and power purchase agreements, which depend on tax equity that is scarce. The September 2026 SEIA and Wood Mackenzie forecast expects residential installs to fall 23% this year.
Which solar companies went bankrupt?
We don’t list company names on this page. Bankruptcy filings are public through the federal courts’ PACER system. The industry reports we cite describe the trend without a full list, including the bankruptcy of a major national installer.
Is door to door solar sales a good job in 2026?
It’s a harder job than it was in 2025. Installers report longer sales cycles and falling close rates, and what you can sell depends on whether your company offers leases or power purchase agreements in your state. If you stay, check the company’s financing options and how it pays you. If you’re looking at other door-to-door products, check where they’re actually being built first.
Will residential solar come back?
The forecast says yes, slowly. SEIA and Wood Mackenzie expect growth to return in 2027 and average 6% a year from 2027 to 2031, driven by third-party ownership, with rising electricity rates helping longer term.
Can a solar crew switch to fiber together?
Yes. A crew can come over together. We don't sign subcontractors. Crew owners sign direct with RCLX and run their team as a Market Manager, and every rep on the team signs their own RCLX contract.
Knock fiber, or bring your crew.
Leave your name and phone, and pick whether you’re here to knock doors or run a team. We’ll call and walk you through how it works.
Industry figures are from the sources linked on this page, as published on the dates shown, and were checked October 25, 2026. Forecasts change each quarter. Nothing on this page is tax advice or a promise of territory, earnings, or service at any specific address.