Bila Solar, a Singapore-based solar panel manufacturer, began production at its new Indianapolis facility, where it is making ultra-lightweight solar modules and newly launched 550 W dual-glass conventional panels.
The initial modules are designed for ground-mount fixed-tilt and carport applications, Bila said. The company aims to reach 300 MW of annual capacity in Phase 1, scaling up to 1 GW at full buildout.
What sets Bila Solar’s modules apart from many others manufactured in the United States is that they are using U.S.-made solar cells, which enables them to qualify for the domestic content bonus. In February, ES Foundry, a South Carolina-based manufacturer of crystalline bifacial passivated emitter and rear contact (PERC) solar cells, announced it had secured a multi-year agreement to supply 300 MW of solar cells to Bila.
According to Bila, its Indianapolis facility is Central Indiana’s first solar panel factory.
“This is a pivotal moment not just for Bila Solar, but for the entire U.S. clean energy industry,” said Mick McDaniel, vice president and general manager of Bila Solar. “Our Indianapolis facility proves the power of smart, forward-looking policies that bring manufacturing back home. We’re proud to contribute to strengthening our domestic supply chain, creating good-paying jobs and advancing American energy independence.”
Domestic content is one of the key provisions under the federal investment tax credit that was passed in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022. For projects that meet domestic content requirements, developers can combine the tax credits to cover as much as 50% of the installed system costs. The impetus behind these credits is not only to stimulate clean energy production in the United States, but also to build out a domestic supply chain, which reduces reliance on foreign imports.
Bila Solar’s 157,000 square-foot facility was retrofitted from a former Eli Lilly building. According to Bila, the facility is expected to create 75 advanced manufacturing jobs this year.
The start of production at the Bila factory in Indianapolis follows a remarkable quarter of new U.S. solar manufacturing. According to the U.S. Solar Market Insight Q2 2025 report by the Solar Energy Industries, 8.6 GW of new solar module manufacturing capacity was added in Q1 2025, marking the third-largest quarter for new manufacturing capacity on record. In addition to growing module capacity, U.S. solar cell production capacity doubled in Q1 to 2 GW with the opening of the ES Foundry factory in South Carolina.
According to the report, solar generating capacity grew 10.8 GW in Q1, with solar and storage accounting for 82% of all new generating capacity added to the grid, which the increase in manufacturing capacity from Bila’s new facility will support.
“Proposed legislation in Congress could upend a thriving U.S. solar industry, which is reviving American manufacturing, lowering electricity costs, and generating hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of billions of dollars of investments, primarily in states that voted for President Trump,” said Solar Energy Industries Association President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Bila Solar’s investment in Indiana is proof of what is possible when we maintain the right policies that boost domestic manufacturing. Washington must make the right decisions now to ensure we can continue to lead the world in solar manufacturing and innovation.”
(Also read: Global path leads to solar manufacturing in Indianapolis)
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