Silicon Energy adds cheaper line of solar panels

For people who can’t afford Silicon Energy LLC’s high-priced Cascade solar panels, the Marysville, Wash., company is now offering a cheaper-but-made-in-U.S. alternative: panels from Motech Americas, made in Delaware.

“We understand there will be times when people will need a standard module” said Silicon Energy President Gary Shaver. “For whatever reason, the Cascade series isn’t the right fit, we have a solution for that.”

Shaver said the Motech panels will be less than half the cost of Silicon Energy’s panels. The latter are fabricated from twin panes of glass in Marysville, with aesthetic mounting and connections systems, which means they’re often used by architects as part of walls or other parts of buildings.

The cheaper Motech panels are more likely to be out of sight, such as on a roof.

Shaver said neither panel can directly compete against made-in-China panels, although the U.S.-built panels can benefit from a 30 percent federal tax credit.

Washington users of made-in-Washington Cascade panels also get paid for energy produced, at a rate of up to 54 cents per kilowatt hour.

Read more about Silicon Energy, including its take on China, in the Puget Sound Business Journal.