Made with the Sun

Made with the Sun

New West Goes Solar

New West Goes Solar

A sign hangs on our factory floor in Victor, Idaho. It reads "Made with the Sun," one of our Codes of the New West: the values that shape how we build, ship, and run New West KnifeWorks.

For years, that code has been a metaphor for sustainability. "In everything we do, we try to be as sustainable as possible," says founder Corey Milligan.

That starts with the knives themselves. "First and foremost, we make knives to last forever," Corey says, "so the most sustainable thing we can do is make something you only have to buy once." 

It carries through the rest of the business too, from avoiding plastic in our packaging to limiting waste across the shop. Manufacturing, shipping, retail, and even product language are all run through the same filter: how do we leave a smaller footprint and build a more sustainable, self-reliant future?

Even that sign reflects the code. It came out of a company-wide team builder, where we gathered scrap and held a contest to turn it into signs for each Code of the New West. Reclaimed materials, handcrafted by our team, right here in our shop.

Making the Code Literal

This fall, a 65.6 kW solar array went up on the roof of our Victor factory, a project that has been years in the making for New West. 

The Project

The project has two parts:

Rooftop solar panels that feed clean power into the factory and the local grid, offsetting a significant share of the electricity we use to grind, heat-treat, and finish every blade.

Two Tesla EV chargers at the factory, so the same sunlight that powers our machines can also charge the cars in our parking lot.

"It's really exciting that we're becoming more sustainable in our practices," Corey says. After years as a guiding principle, the code is about to become reality. Soon, we'll be making knives with the sun, no metaphor required.

Why Now: Riding Solar's Roller Coaster

David, the installer who led our project, has spent 11 years putting up solar across the country, from Texas to Oregon. In his experience, the industry rises and falls with incentives. "Solar is like a roller coaster," he says. "It has its ups and it has its downs. Right now, solar is on the down side."

That roller coaster shaped our timing. “Part of what got us to finally pull the trigger was a set of tax incentives that expired in July, which made the cost of this project make sense for us,” Corey says.

The incentive was the federal Section 48E Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit, a 30% tax credit for commercial solar. Federal legislation passed in July 2025 shortened its timeline. Commercial solar projects had to begin construction by July 4, 2026, to keep the full credit with several years to finish the work. 

Our System by the Numbers

Our rooftop array is a 65.6 kW system expected to produce about 102,000 kWh per year, enough to cover an estimated 40–45% of the factory's annual electricity use.

How it Works

Solar panels are photovoltaic. "They collect the sun and convert it to DC energy," David explains. "Then it sends it all down to the inverter, it gets inverted to AC, and it shoots off to the grid or wherever power is needed."

Our system uses net metering, with no batteries. When the panels make more than the factory uses, the extra flows to the grid. When we need more, at night or on a snowy January afternoon, we draw from it. That takes a special meter, because a standard one "can't tell which direction power is flowing," David says. A net meter "will tell if you're pulling or if you're giving."

Charging Cars with Sunshine

Because the Tesla chargers are tied into the solar system, they share in its output. "Power will go where it's needed," David explains. "So if your shop's not pulling the amount of power the solar is providing, and you plug in your Tesla charger, then basically it's the sun's power charging that car.”

Good for the Whole Valley

Solar doesn't just help the building it sits on. As Teton Valley grows, David sees local generation as a way to ease pressure on infrastructure. "It definitely helps out with the grid, especially in growing communities where the grid's just not sized properly for what's about to come," he says. "Solar helps with that a lot, a lot more than people think."

What's Next

With the panels on the roof, all that's left is the final hookup, the net meter, and the Tesla chargers. 

"I've always wanted solar power to run the factory so we could truly make knives with the sun," Corey says. "Now it's happening."

The New West knife already in your drawer was built to last a lifetime. The next one will be made with the sun. Literally.

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