Inside the vast QCells factory in Cartersville, Georgia, workers — and a bevy of robots — move ultra-thin slices of polysilicon through a lengthy series of machines and chemical baths to transform them into what are known as cells.

In June, the plant, about an hour northwest of Atlanta, expanded beyond assembling the major components of solar panels. By the end of October, the company plans to have the whole production process here under one roof.

“The $2.5 billion, the 3.5 million gallons of water, the 90 megawatts of power, the 60 tons of chemicals on site, and all of the football fields worth of infrastructure you’ve seen is to arrive at this,” said Scott Bell, vice president of external affairs at QCells, holding up one of the paper-thin blue cells.

Read more at WABE.