Sun Badger Solar customers in Illinois: what happened, and who services your system now

What happened

Sun Badger Solar, based in Waukesha, Wisconsin, shut down in January and February 2023 and was placed in receivership through the Waukesha County Circuit Court. BizTimes reported in February 2024 that the FBI was investigating the company and that customer losses were estimated at about $1.3 million. The Illinois Power Agency's 2025 Consumer Complaints and Disciplinary Actions report names Sun Badger Solar among the out-of-business entities that received complaints in 2025.

Sources:BizTimes, FBI investigating shuttered Waukesha company Sun Badger Solar (20 February 2024); Illinois Power Agency, 2025 Annual Consumer Complaints and Disciplinary Actions Report (27 February 2026).

What it means for your warranty

Your workmanship warranty is probably gone. When a company liquidates, its warranties are unsecured liabilities and generally do not survive the bankruptcy.

Your equipment warranty probably survived. Your panels and inverter are covered by the manufacturer, a separate company that still exists. Most major manufacturers are still honouring them. What you lost is the person who diagnoses the fault and files the claim.

A receivership works differently from a bankruptcy, but the effect on a workmanship warranty is much the same: the company that promised it no longer exists to perform it, and any claim against the estate runs through the receiver.

Who took over, if anyone

No successor has been announced for Sun Badger Solar customers. If you financed the system, the lender or lease company still holds your agreement, and some of them have hired contractors to finish or service systems. Ask them first, in writing, before you pay anyone for a diagnosis.

What you can still do

The state's Solar Restitution Program. The Illinois Power Agency's Solar Restitution Program pays up to $30,000 on a project of 25 kW or less and up to $50,000 on a larger one, to customers harmed by an Illinois Shines Approved Vendor or Designee. By June 2026 it had paid about $473,000 to 170 customers. The program decides eligibility, not us, and most affected homeowners have never heard of it.

Manufacturer warranty claims. Your modules and inverter carry their own warranties from the manufacturer, and those companies are still trading. Find the model and serial numbers on the inverter label and in your closing paperwork. A claim needs a diagnosis first, and the manufacturer will usually supply the replacement part and leave the labour to you.

Monitoring access. If your installer set up the monitoring account, get it into your own name now, while the manufacturer's support desk can still verify you as the owner. Enphase, SolarEdge, Fronius and SMA each have a process for handing a system to the homeowner. Without it, nobody can see what the system is doing.

Sun Badger sold on both sides of the state line. Illinois customers can look at the state restitution program if Sun Badger was the Illinois Shines vendor on the project. Wisconsin customers have no equivalent state program that we know of, so the manufacturer warranty and the receivership record are the routes.