Silicon Energy’s CEO Gary Shaver presented at the Minnesota AFL-CIO building at the Minnesota state fair on Thursday, August 26th. Silicon Energy is a Photovoltaic module manufacture based out of Marysville, Washington. Mr. Shaver out lined the advantages of their product. Such as concealed wiring and no frame on the top and bottom of the module to trap dirt. The single biggest difference of this module over others, is they use glass on both sides of the module, this allows you to see right through the module, in certain areas of the module. This module design is to look good and integrate in to architectural shading on a building. In the picture provided here you can see the lines make neat little squares that allow light to pass through the module in the spaces between the pv cells. This picture taken at the Minnesota State Fair’s “Eco Experience” a show by the Minnesota Environmental Protection Agency.
The great interest in Silicon Energy in Minnesota is due to the announcement of ground breaking in Mount Iron, MN. Silicon Energy will be manufacturing produce by spring in Northern Minnesota. This will help build the Minnesota economy. This product will also qualify for the made in Minnesota incentive program that will be released soon.
My interest in this produce is limited. This is a high quality and high cost module. I don’t know what the list price for this product, but it seems to be over kill for most solar installations here in Minnesota. Most installations will need a high wattage module. It is my understanding the highest wattage provided by “Silicon Energy” it 180 watts. As this industry has progressed, 230 watts has become more of an industry standard. When I am selecting modules for a project, I like to see a module that is at least 200 watts. The time it takes to install a 180 watt module is exactly the same as installing a 230 watt module. To install about a 3,000 watt solar system it takes 13 - 230 watt modules. To get a similar wattage from a 180 watt module we have to install 17 modules. Adding four more modules will add more labor cost. The second concern about a using a lower wattage module is the limit site sizes. If we have only room on a home to fit 13 modules, my choice is to install the highest wattage module possible.
In conclusion, I am glad we have a new manufacturer in Minnesota. Silicon Energy makes a handsome solar module.
