First, I’d like to acknowledge that the employees at Infinite have always been polite and friendly anytime we’ve communicated, and overall, I’m sure Infinite Energy is a good company.
That being said, our experience has left me feeling that we may have made a mistake choosing this company, and after over 6 months from signing a contract and paying over $30K for our solar system, we have yet to see a single dollar of a return on our investment.
Our system was installed back in November of 2021, and was a basic 9.6kW system that as far as we were told was straightforward residential system that would be up and running “hopefully” before the end of the year. The first problem we experienced was when the county inspector came to sign off on the project and we failed the inspection. The county inspector advised us that there were wires dangling down from the panels, making contact with the roof. “They should have picked up on that. They know better,” was the comment from the inspector. He did mention that it was a minor issue, and easy to fix. Infinite did come out the next day and fix the wires. Unfortunately, we were advised that this mistake would set the approval process back another 30 days.
45 days later I still had no updates from PG&E nor Infinite. Each party stated they were waiting on the other for “paperwork processing.”
Rich advised me that PG&E was basically stalling and it “was a very busy time of year for them.”
I gave the process another month before contacting PG&E. This time, the PG&E representative advised me that our application had been kicked back for being “incomplete.” Apparently there was a date missing on one of the signatures. Infuriated, I asked them to send me the paperwork directly and I would make sure it was filled out myself and send it right back. PG&E’s rep then stated “I’m sorry sir, but only the installer can generate the applications to be filled out. Once they get the signatures from the homeowner, it is their job to then submit it to us.”
So… my frustration now sits with Infinite, who, should absolutely make sure all of the permit applications are filled out correctly and completely BEFORE submitting them to PG&E. Especially if they know the process, and especially if they know how much money can be lost each month the systems are not up and operating.
To say the least, I’m really disappointed with the way this process has turned out, and I’m wishing we had gone with another company that was more organized with their permit applications processing. At this point of the year, I estimate that we’ve lost approximately $600-$800 in electrical production. Especially considering the mild winter and spring.
If you are considering this company, make absolutely sure that they FILL OUT YOUR PERMIT APPLICATIONS CORRECTLY before submitting to PG&E. Rich has been working with us to the best of his ability and said PG&E are basically dragging their feet and doing anything they can to delay the process due to various reasons.
UPDATE: 4/28 and now PG&E are telling us they still haven’t received appropriate paperwork, and sent an email stating that “The finalized building permit has been received but the document was submitted prematurely.” At this point I’m considering a lawsuit but that only complicates things even more so and I doubt it matters one iota to PG&E. So frustrating.