Bila Solar, a Singapore based solar module manufacturer is investing $35m on a plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, which has the capacity to produce 1 GW of glassless, frameless solar modules. It plans to renovate an existing 150,000ft² facility at White River Parkway East Drive, Indianapolis. The plant, which is anticipated to be fully operational in summer 2024, will revitalise urban manufacturing by adding 240 jobs. It will produce 5,000 modules per day and serve as the business’s US headquarters. The facility’s first product will be a lightweight solar module that combines crystalline silicon solar cells with aerospace composites. The product will be 95 per cent thinner and 30 per cent lighter than typical glass panels.
The solar modules are ideally suited for difficult applications such as low load-bearing commercial and industrial roofs and waterproof membrane roofs and can also be mounted on curved surfaces. Additionally, they can be combined into vehicles and give off-grid utilisation and access to solar power at previously inaccessible places.
Earlier this month, Swift Current Energy, a utility-based renewable developer in the US, also raised $779 million for its 800 MW DC (593 MW AC) solar project, namely Double Black Diamond, located 30 miles west of Springfield, Illinois. It is the largest solar project in MISO and the second-largest single-phase solar project in the US. The project will produce enough electricity annually to power more than 100,000 homes while reducing carbon dioxide emissions by over one million tonnes annually.
