The solar shingle game in america has all the time been an uphill battle — even “front-runners” CertainTeed, GAF Vitality and Tesla would seemingly agree. However New York-based SunTegra carved a spot for itself within the high-end residential market and managed to run a profitable enterprise during the last decade navigating Chinese language tariffs, a pandemic and scaling home manufacturing of a nontraditional photo voltaic product.
Now SunTegra CEO Oliver Koehler is pulling the plug on his ardour challenge, citing the occasions of the final 12 months as the ultimate straw.
Suntegra Photo voltaic Tiles
“In the event you don’t have entry to capital to maintain the ship going, you’re lifeless within the water. Sadly, the irony is that the Chinese language corporations do have entry capital,” he stated. “It’s actually unhappy. I simply needed to make a better-looking photo voltaic panel.”
SunTegra began making silicon photo voltaic shingles and tiles in 2014. The merchandise connected to the roof deck in an overlapping sample with a patented air flow design to cut back warmth and improve power manufacturing. The SunTegra Shingle was a 2-by-4-ft PV panel in an injection-molded body that peaked at 114 W. The photo voltaic shingles had been ideally put in on new-construction houses or throughout reroofing, so SunTegra discovered a distinct segment with prospects in search of premium aesthetic photo voltaic.
Koehler, already thought-about an business veteran after stints at BP Photo voltaic and SunPower, had the expertise to succeed, however the challenges began instantly.
“We’ve been impacted by tariffs from the primary containers we had on the water, actually going again to 2014,” he stated. “We initially had a provider in China, like everybody else in these days. Then we switched to [American] Suniva photo voltaic cells, as a result of there have been some brewing tariffs targeting solar products made in China under Obama, and that was purported to allow us to get round these tariffs. Then there have been last-minute modifications by the Dept. of Commerce that any panel popping out of China goes to get tariffed regardless if that they had U.S. photo voltaic cells in them. Immediately, we discovered about this variation and we had containers on the water already.”
Utilizing U.S. silicon cells in China-assembled photo voltaic shingles rapidly proved impractical. SunTegra then tried assembling in Indonesia, however the logistics there have been troublesome too. So Koehler turned to Mexicali, Mexico, for SunTegra’s customized photo voltaic panel manufacturing.
“We purchased some [solar shingle] tools from Dow Photo voltaic, which was closing down, and moved it to Mexico,” he stated. “I signed a lease one week earlier than Trump began attacking NAFTA, after which a 12 months later new photo voltaic tariffs got here into impact that additionally focused Mexico and Canada.”
A SunTegra set up
The North American Free Commerce Settlement (NAFTA) created a free commerce zone that eradicated tariffs amongst Canada, Mexico and america. Instantly upon taking workplace in 2017, President Donald Trump started negotiations to interchange the settlement. The following deliberations influenced the photo voltaic tariff investigations to additionally embrace Mexico and Canada, which as much as that time had appeared like secure locations to determine manufacturing.
SunTegra finally linked with Prism Photo voltaic, a small bifacial panel producer in New York. Collectively they cobbled collectively a small cell-to-module manufacturing line in Prism Photo voltaic’s facility with an annual capability of 5 MW. However then COVID got here and Prism’s dad or mum firm needed out of producing. The constructing was bought to an web retailer.
“We tried to purchase the tools from Prism, however the brand new constructing house owners didn’t need the manufacturing there. Discovering a brand new area was too costly, and the Prism laminator was additionally very costly to maneuver. We had to return to Plan B, which was supply a laminate from Asia and do the ultimate meeting of the product in upstate New York close to Binghamton,” Koehler stated. “We discovered a provider in Vietnam, and so they did a superb job. We had been hoping to lift cash and attempt to deliver manufacturing again right here to New York, however elevating cash for home photo voltaic manufacturing was troublesome and gradual. Then tariffs on Southeast Asia, which had been delayed for 2 years resulting from a Biden directive, began to brew. The preliminary tariffs regarded not like the top of the world, after which they had been the top of the world. They went from about 60% in December of 2024 to only over 200% in April of 2025. This stranded a container in Vietnam and lower off our income. Then the retroactive nature simply killed us.”
The issue for SunTegra wasn’t lack of demand — it’s every part else. The SunTegra Shingle solely consists of 24 cells, however manufacturing a small panel nonetheless requires the identical tools as a standard, full-sized panel. Huge panel factories don’t need to put aside area for boutique merchandise, and there aren’t any customized photo voltaic producers in america.
“You want a sure crucial mass of scale to deliver the fee down. Asia was an incredible place for that,” Koehler stated. “You discover a small contract producer that makes off-grid panels or backyard lights. They’ve a laminator and expert workers, and you will get these panels at an inexpensive value with out having to spend so much of capital on tools and services. If that’s not a risk, it’s exhausting. Rather a lot larger funding is required to jumpstart that if you wish to do it within the U.S., and that makes it even more durable to lift capital.”
With out a cost-effective method to make the photo voltaic shingles and the uncertainty brought on by Trump’s risky tariff coverage, Koehler was already nervous about SunTegra’s future. The expiration of the residential funding tax credit score on the finish of this 12 months put the nail within the coffin.
Oliver Koehler, CEO and founder, SunTegra
“With the tax credit score going away, it pushes photo voltaic shingles into extra of an unrealistic payback,” Koehler stated. “There’s undoubtedly a spot available in the market [for solar shingles], however another person should conquer it.”
SunTegra is within the means of notifying set up contractors and present prospects concerning the closing of its operations. Koehler stated a service functionality will stay to make sure questions on SunTegra installations and merchandise are answered. The corporate will finally contemplate promoting its mental property, as a result of Koehler nonetheless stands by SunTegra’s design and manufacturing worth. It was simply too troublesome to make the photo voltaic shingle enterprise work in america within the present surroundings.
“I nonetheless assume there’s tons of promise [with solar shingles], however you are concerned that with no degree enjoying area so individuals can innovate and do new issues, you’re not going to decrease prices and construct a extra artistic grid. It’s going to be carried out in different international locations,” he stated. “What I did right here isn’t a groundbreaking little bit of innovation. It’s a product extension, or one thing like that. However even that proved method too exhausting to do, not as a result of the purchasers don’t need it, however as a result of there’s simply method an excessive amount of authorities involvement within the business. And never simply the U.S. authorities. Chinese language dumping is actual and that may be a actual downside that no U.S. administration has correctly been capable of deal with. However being within the crossfire is even worse.
“A part of me is like, I must do one thing utterly completely different for some time,” Koehler continued. “However I nonetheless love photo voltaic.”
