Last month ES Foundry,announced it had secured its first GW+, multi-year contract with a top-tier solar module manufacturer and now it’s announcing a multi-year agreement to supply 300 MWs of solar cells to Bila Solar, a domestic solar module manufacturer.
ES Foundry is manufacturing crystalline bifacial passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells in Greenwood, South Carolina, thus qualifying for the domestic content bonus, the company reports.
This strategic partnership between ES Foundry and Bila Solar highlights the shift toward onshoring critical manufacturing. Sourcing U.S.-made cells for U.S.-made modules strengthens the domestic supply chain, which brings economic stability and security. However, the U.S. solar supply chain currently has a capacity mismatch in that solar module production is now over 50 GW, whereas domestic cell production is in its early stages.
According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q4 2024 report by the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie, the U.S. can now produce enough solar modules to meet nearly all U.S. demand, but cell manufacturing has been slower to take hold due to the complex and costly process.
“This agreement with Bila Solar underscores the increasing market confidence in American-made solar cells,” said Ken Johnston, vice president of sales at ES Foundry. “By partnering with a forward-thinking module manufacturer like Bila Solar, we’re expanding access to high-efficiency solar products and driving domestic manufacturing growth. This reduces reliance on imports and reinforces the U.S. as a global leader in clean energy manufacturing.”
Bila is also a relative newcomer to the domestic manufacturing scene. In 2023 Bila announced plans to renovate an existing 150,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis, expecting to employ 240 people once the plant is fully operational.
Today its patented ultra-lightweight solar modules are in production, and the company recently announced that it would expand its product lines to include conventional 550W glass and aluminum frame modules, which will incorporate the domestically produced solar cells. Production of Bila Solar’s new line of domestic cell modules will start in May.
The technology behind the modules was developed in collaboration with the advanced materials industry. McDaniel told pv magazine USA that replacing glass with specially formulated composites was inspired by the windows in airplanes, which are not made from glass, and are lightweight, transparent, strong, flexible, durable and UV resistant.
“These same characteristics are excellent for solar panels, so why haven’t we used them yet? The aerospace industry has figured out how and so our task was how to apply that to the PV industry in a cost-effective way that met the needs of solar customers.” said McDaniel.
U.S.-made modules with U.S.-made cells can help solar developers access the Investment Tax Credit’s 10% domestic content bonus credit, according to a release by ES Foundry.
“With 100% of our products manufactured in Indianapolis, Bila Solar is committed to delivering high-performance, domestically sourced solar modules,” said Mick McDaniel, general manager at Bila Solar. “Ever since the U.S. Treasury published its Safe Harbor guidelines regarding the 10% domestic content bonus credit, we’ve seen greater interest in a U.S.-produced module that incorporates a U.S.-made solar cell. Bila Solar is excited to be one of the first companies to offer this product into the marketplace.”
Initial capacity at the ES Foundry plant is 1 GW annually, ramping up to 3 GW by Q3 2025. In an interview in January, Alex Zhu, founder and CEO, told pv magazine USA that the company plans for HJT in future expansion. Zhu also noted that there are currently 160 people employed at the plant, with plans to scale up to 500 by the end of the year.
Both companies will exhibit at the upcoming Intersolar North America & Energy Storage North America conference, Feb. 25 to 27, at the San Diego Convention Center, California.
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