First Solar Opens $1.1 Billion Manufacturing Facility in Louisiana

First Solar, Inc. inaugurated its new $1.1 billion vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana.  

Spanning 2.4 million square feet—roughly 11 times the size of the New Orleans Superdome—the facility currently employs over 700 people and expects to have 826 employees by the end of the year.

Upon final completion, it will add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of annual nameplate capacity. The company’s U.S. footprint is anticipated to grow to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when a new South Carolina facility becomes fully ramped. 

The high-tech factory uses AI for deep learning to automatically detect solar panel defects during production, in addition to the use of AI-powered tools for operating adjustments and decision-making. 

The Iberia Parish facility began production several months ahead of schedule, in July 2025, with the accelerated timeline driven by the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Trump administration’s trade policies.  

The facility has no dependencies on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains, ensuring its compliance with anticipated Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) guidance. It creates First Solar’s Series 7 modules using domestic materials, including glass from Illinois and Ohio and Mississippi-produced steel. 

“First Solar’s investment is already delivering real results for Iberia Parish and the surrounding region with hundreds of good-paying jobs and new opportunities for Louisiana workers and businesses,” said Louisiana Governor, Jeff Landry, in a statement. “This is exactly how we advance President Trump’s agenda of American energy dominance. Louisiana has always powered this country, and with projects like this, we’re strengthening our workforce and securing an all-of-the-above energy future that drives growth and prosperity.” 

The new facility is forecast to grow Iberia Parish’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 4.4% in its first full year of operations at capacity, according to an economic impact analysis conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

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