The Snohomish County Solar Tour 2013 is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21, as part of the American Solar Energy Society’s national solar tour.

A variety of homes and businesses around Snohomish County are available for tours on that day only. Owners will provide access to residences and businesses to show the latest technologies available in solar and green energy solutions.

This is your chance to talk the homeowners themselves. You can find out why they decided to go solar, how and why they chose their systems, if their sites had any challenges to overcome, what their installation experiences were like and how their systems are performing now.

You can kick off the solar tour by visiting two local solar manufacturing companies, Outback Power Technologies of Arlington and Silicon Energy of Marysville.

OutBack Power Technologies is located at 1782 59th Ave. NE in Arlington, and will be offering tours of its new Engineering and Training facility from 9-11 a.m. Outback Power employs about 70 people, and recently moved into their new location, near the Arlington Airport, to keep up with the soaring demand for solar power. Learn about their certified battery-based inverters, for both off-grid and grid-tie applications. Outback inverters are the only certified Made-in-Washington inverters, that provide power from solar PV during a utility outage. Outback Power is a member of The Alpha Group, a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced power electronics for renewable energy, backup power and mobile applications.

For more information, log onto www.outbackpower.com.

Silicon Energy is located at 33506 124th St. NE in Marysville, and will be offering guided tours of its factory from 10 a.m. to noon. Founded in 2007, Silicon Energy pledges to deliver the highest quality and most durable photovoltaic modules on the market today, backed by a world-class warranty. Silicon Energy’s sustainable approach to doing business offers customers a locally manufactured and environmentally friendly solar PV product in both Washington state and Minnesota. The company touts its philosophy of supporting the local and U.S. economy, and its commitment to creating long-lasting, aesthetically pleasing PV, both of which are intended to reassure customers that, while they are reducing their carbon footprint, they are also contributing to their local economy. Silicon Energy PV Systems are available through select partners for home, commercial, government and utility installations.

For more information about Silicon Energy, log onto www.silicon-energy.com or call 360-618-6500.