- Singapore’s Bila Solar will build a 1 GW solar module plant in Indianapolis, US
- It plans to produce glassless, frameless solar panels, equal to rolling out 5,000 modules/day
- These modules will cater to low load-bearing C&I roofs, along with integrative applications as VIPV, among others
A solar technology startup based out of Singapore, founded by solar pioneer Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Bila Solar has zeroed in on Indianapolis as the location of its maiden US manufacturing facility to roll out glassless, frameless solar modules with an annual capacity of 1 GW.
The management says this venture will revitalize a ‘long-neglected economic sector’ in the country calling it urban manufacturing.
To be built for $35 million, the new fab in White River Parkway East Drive will have the annual capacity to produce an equivalent of around 5,000 high power modules/day at an existing 150,000 ft² facility which will be renovated.
Bila Solar says it already operates a 1 GW manufacturing facility in Asia and will debut in the US with a lightweight solar module with the lightness of specially designed and patented aerospace composites. It deploys high efficiency 182 mm mono-PERC solar cells with module efficiency reaching 19.3%.
These panels weigh just 30% of regular glass panels and is 95% slimmer, according to the company, thus making them suitable for installation on low load-bearing commercial and industrial (C&I) roofs, waterproof membrane roofs, curved surfaces, and can also be integrated into vehicles for solar power and for off-grid applications.
Bila’s Founder Dr. Zhengrong Shi has been extensively working on thin-film solar modules for long. In 2022, his China based startup Sunman Energy commissioned the world’s ‘largest’ production facility with 1 GW annual capacity for lightweight solar modules for BIPV applications (see 1 GW BIPV Production Line In China).
Bila’s team also comprises Mick McDaniel, the general manager of the company’s US operations, who previously worked with another Shi company Suntech Power and also with US cadmium telluride (CdTe) manufacturer First Solar.
Once the Indianapolis factory is fully operational in the summer of 2024, it will employ 240 people, stated Bila.
Within a year of the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022, the US has witnessed new solar production capacity announcements of 155 GW, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), including 85 GW modules and 43 GW solar cells (see Inflation Reduction Act For Solar: A Report Card).
