CHARLOTTE — The man behind an embattled solar panel company has created a trailer for a reality show starring his family in the Lake Norman area.
Jayson Waller ran PowerHome Solar, which became Pink Energy, a national company headquartered in Mooresville. The company filed for bankruptcy years ago, leaving many customers with questions about their investments.
But now, a newly produced reality show trailer is putting a spotlight on Waller’s family.
It’s called “THE BAM FAM.”
“I’m wired to just go, go, go, go, go, and there’s no off switch,” Waller says in the video.
The video looks like one you would see on a cable network, showing a variety of scenes involving Waller’s family. It even acknowledges Waller’s legal trouble and disgruntled customers.
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When Action 9 searched for the show on Google, this came up: “... a riotous and heartfelt saga of family, entrepreneurship, and resilience...”
The end of the trailer said Amazon Prime, and the show’s website displayed Prime Video with its famous logo. Waller’s podcast said it’s on Amazon Prime as well, “airing January 2024.” Forbes magazine also reported the show would appear on Prime last month.
But Amazon emailed Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke, saying “THE BAM FAM” is not available on Prime Video and “not supposed to use” its logo.
Waller told Stoogenke that the video is just a trailer at this point, and that he doesn’t anticipate it turning into an actual show.
However, even the idea of a reality show is rubbing customers like Becky Herrington the wrong way.
“There’s been so many people damaged in so many ways,” she said.
Customers started complaining about the solar company to Action 9 in 2017. They said their solar panels didn’t work or didn’t generate the savings the business promised.
Many have even joined a Facebook group dedicated to people who feel wronged by the company.
“He’s sitting back, enjoying his life,” Herrington said. “I could care less about his fake little tears and how this hurts him so bad while he’s driving his Lamborghini. I’m sorry, I’m driving a 2015 truck because I can’t afford something brand new.”
Multiple states launched investigations into Pink Energy over the years, including North Carolina. At last check, North Carolina’s investigation was still going on.
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The company filed for bankruptcy in 2022, and many angry customers attended one of the early proceedings.
As for THE BAM FAM trailer, Waller emailed Action 9, “This project was not intended or conceived to portray me as a hero, underdog, or a villain, it was meant to truthfully and accurately portray the aftermath of Pink Energy’s closure and the impact it had on my family. To those who may feel offended by the trailer’s portrayal, I offer my sincerest apologies. It was never our aim to cause further distress to Pink Energy’s customers.”
Action 9 asked Waller about his use of the Amazon logo in the trailer.
Waller emailed Stoogenke, “Any use of Amazon Prime Video’s logo or other marketing materials was done by our distributor partner and under their guidance.” He said the distributor partner managed “all aspects” of “trademark guidelines,” not him.
So Stoogenke emailed his distributor partner, but it didn’t respond in time for this report.
After Action 9 started asking about the use of Amazon’s name, Stoogenke tried to go on the trailer’s website again, but it was offline as of Monday.
Waller blames one of the company’s part suppliers, Generac, for Pink Energy’s downfall. He said some of its products were defective, causing problems that he claims brought down the business.
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Generac faces multiple lawsuits. (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) It wouldn’t comment while the cases are still going on.
It told Stoogenke in October 2022, “We understand that consumers are frustrated with Pink Energy. However, Generac remains committed to our customers. Customers with questions about the Generac components of their solar systems can reach out to solarsupport@generac.com or 1-800-396-1281 for assistance. We ask for your patience as we work to assist customers as quickly as possible.”
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