Xtreme Power bankruptcy raises warranty questions
Honolulu Civil Beat | 01/28/2014 | civilbeat.com
Xtreme Power, a Texas-based energy company, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, raising questions about warranties on the company’s battery storage systems installed on Hawaii wind and solar farms.
The company was in the midst of installing its eighth battery storage system in Hawaii, as of a November 2013 press release from the company.
The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has Xtreme Power batteries installed at two of its solar farms and is in the midst of ordering a third, according to Jim Kelly, a spokesman for the utility.
“There are warranties, but I think bankruptcy throws everything into question,” he said.
Executives at Xtreme Power could not immediately be reached for comment. But the company is hoping to attract a buyer and reorganize.
Xtreme Power’s battery storage system installed at the Kahuku wind farm on Oahu caught fire in August of 2012, taking the project offline for a year and a half. First Wind, the developer of the wind farm, has said that the turbines are expected to be operating at full capacity soon. But the company has suffered lost revenues while the project has been offline.
Xtreme Power blamed the fire on the Dynapower Corp. for allegedly selling it faulty parts for the battery storage system. In court filings related to the fire, Xtreme Power said that it had incurred “millions of dollars in costs” related to repairing and replacing damaged equipment.
Xtreme Power’s bankruptcy filings indicate that the company has more than $10 million in debts owed to more than 50 parties. Creditors include Arnel Investments, which is owed $3.7 million, as well as the U.S. Department of Energy, which gave the company a grant under its Section 1603 renewable energy program. The energy department is owed $372,631.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/01/29/xtreme-power-bankruptcy-raises-warranty-questions/