What happens to the solar industry if Trump shuts down the CFBP?

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was established to protect consumers from deceptive business practices. For homeowners investing in solar energy, the CFPB plays a critical role in protecting them against misleading financing terms, aggressive sales tactics, and unfair solar loan servicing. 

Like the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Internal Revenue Service, National Institutes of Health and many others, the CFPB is at the risk of suffering mass layoffs, or worse — shutting down completely. Without it, experts in the solar industry fear that consumers may be left vulnerable to exploitative lending practices that have plagued the solar industry in the past.

The CFPB was establishedformed in 2010 as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to primarily oversee financial products like mortgages, credit cards, and auto loans. However, as the solar industry has expanded, the agency has also become a key regulator of solar financing and lease agreements to prevent companies from engaging in predatory lending practices and deceptive advertising.

According to Aaron Nichols of Exact Solar, the CFPB has been instrumental in cleaning up the solar financing space. He recalled the "easy money door-to-door solar era", when “bad actors” convinced low-income homeowners they were signing up for government assistance rather than high-interest loans. 

Some even forged homeowner signatures on financing documents, leaving them trapped in expensive, poorly installed systems. The CFPB cracked down on many of these deceptive companies, a move that ethical solar companies welcomed. “Whenever bad actors use predatory loans to fund home improvements, consumers suffer, as do the well-intentioned companies in that industry. It's bad for everyone,” Nichols said.

In early 2025, the Trump administration made moves to swiftly dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It began with the firing of Director Rohit Chopra and the appointment of Russell Vought, a known advocate for reducing federal oversight. 

By February, the administration ordered CFPB employees to cease work and closed its headquarters, effectively freezing critical consumer protection efforts. These actions sparked immediate legal challenges, and a federal judge temporarily blocked further attempts to dismantle the agency.

By March 2025, the Trump administration faced lawsuits and congressional scrutiny, and adjusted its stance as a result. Despite stating that the CFPB would continue to exist, it would do so in a significantly weakened capacity. Most staff had either been reassigned or let go, and have left homeowners and consumers with far fewer protections against predatory financial practices.