PORTER TWP. — After a national solar company went bankrupt, some customers in West Michigan are left with systems that don't work, yet remain tens of thousands of dollars in debt.

Pink Energy, formerly Power Home Solar, has filed for bankruptcy.

Steve Poole and his wife purchased a system for the backyard of their home near Schoolcraft at a cost of approximately $82,000.

“I figured in my retirement age, I’d have less (of a) utility bill,” Poole said.

The panels were installed about a year ago, along with a battery system in the basement. Both were working until recently — but now, Poole is left with a system that’s not powering his home or feeding energy back into the grid, and he's having trouble finding someone to fix it.

“Most of them don’t want to touch it because of the warranty issues and Generac saying, ‘Oh no, we’re not going to warranty it. They put it in wrong,'” Poole said.

Many of the crucial components of his system are made by Generac.

The Better Business Bureau in Charlotte, North Carolina — where Pink Energy was based — is handling complaints. The president of the chapter, Tom Bartholomy, said they've received more than 1,200 complaints about poor sales practices, products not functioning properly and customer service issues.

Bartholomy said customers should contact Generac to request warranty service and file a complaint with their state’s Attorney General Office.

Pink Energy released a statement on its website regarding the company shutdown:

“Due to rampant consumer discontent resulting from faulty Generac solar equipment, Pink Energy has been forced to close its doors permanently. We exhausted all avenues to find a way forward that would allow us to service all past, present and future customers and are devastated that we can’t do so.

"We remain steadfast in our call for Generac to do a national recall on its defective SnapRS units. We need everyone to ask Generac why its parts were failing en masse, considering it was not just us with these issues. For the sake of the solar industry, Generac must be held accountable.”

Generac said it will stand behind its equipment in a statement to WOOD TV-8.

“In certain situations, especially when product installation guidelines have not been followed, as appears to be the case with some Pink Energy installations, customers may have experienced certain issues with a particular Generac component of their solar energy system — the SnapRS 801 or 801A.

"We have introduced a new next-generation rapid shutdown device, which has been designed and engineered to the highest reliability standards. We are committed to getting those upgrades and warranty replacements taken care of as quickly as possible and those steps are well underway."

Generac continued to say it's been in business for 60 years, and has done so "by standing by our promises and products."

“We are aware of Pink Energy’s recent (bankruptcy filing). Over the past few weeks, we have already contracted with high-quality third-party providers to perform warranty services on Generac’s products, now that Pink Energy will no longer be providing this service to its customers.

“We understand that consumers are frustrated with Pink Energy and their inaction. However, Generac remains committed to our customers."

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Customers with questions about the Generac components of their systems should contact solarsupport@generac.com or 800-396-1281.

The Michigan Attorney General's Office says it recently began an investigation into Pink Energy.

Poole said he's hopeful his solar panels will be generating power again soon and thinks the issue might be with the system's inverter.

“I don’t know if it’s the same problem everybody else is experiencing because I can’t get anybody out here to even look at it,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Bankrupt solar company leaves some West Michigan customers with useless systems