First Solar’s new vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, spans approximately 2.4 million square feet and is reportedly about 11 times the size of the New Orleans Superdome. (Photo: First Solar / Business Wire)
The high-tech factory is enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), using computer vision and deep learning to automatically detect defects in solar panels during production.
TEMPE, Ariz.—In November, First Solar, Inc. inaugurated its new fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, the company said in a release.
The $1.1 billion facility spans approximately 2.4 million square feet and is reported to be approximately 11 times the size of the New Orleans Superdome. The facility employed more than 700 people at the time of its formal dedication and was expected to have more than 820 employees by the end of 2025, according to the release.
The Iberia Parish facility began production in July 2025, several months ahead of schedule. Once it is fully ramped, the facility is expected to add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of annual nameplate capacity. That would increase First Solar’s American manufacturing footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when a recently announced production facility in South Carolina is expected to be fully ramped, the company said.
According to First Solar, the facility has no dependencies on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains. It produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using American materials, including glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel produced in Mississippi and fabricated into back rails in Louisiana.
“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.”
According to an economic impact analysis conducted by the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and commissioned by the Iberia Economic Development Authority (IEDA) the new facility is forecast to grow Iberia Parish’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 4.4 percent in its first full year of operations at capacity. Manufacturing roles at the facility offer an average compensation package of $90,000 per year, more than three times the per capita income in Iberia Parish, First Solar said in the release.
“This is more than just a manufacturing facility. It’s a commitment to American energy dominance, affordable electricity, growth, and prosperity,” said First Solar Chief Executive Officer Mark Widmar, in a statement. “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that U.S. reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”
Once fully ramped, First Solar’s Iberia Parish manufacturing facility is expected to add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of annual nameplate capacity, bringing the company’s American manufacturing footprint to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027, when a recently announced production facility in South Carolina is expected to be fully ramped. (Photo: First Solar / Business Wire)
The high-tech factory is enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), using computer vision and deep learning to automatically detect defects in solar panels during production. Technicians and operators leverage AI-powered tools to make operating adjustments and guide decision making.
“This is, beyond doubt, one of the most advanced solar manufacturing facilities in the world and it represents the very best of American manufacturing innovation,” said First Solar Chief Manufacturing Officer Kuntal Kumar Verma, in the release. “Along with its sister facilities in Ohio and Alabama, this factory demonstrates how AI can be harnessed to help American factory workers reach their full potential. Our fleet offers proof that AI can help realize productivity gains that allow us to out-innovate the competition and run our operations smarter, better, and faster.”
The Louisiana facility is part of what the company described as “already the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere.” That footprint also includes three fully vertically integrated manufacturing facilities in Ohio and one in Alabama, along with R&D centers in Ohio and California, the company said.
A week before First Solar officially introduced its Iberia Parish facility, the PV solar technology and manufacturing company announced an investment in a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina. The planned facility will onshore final production processes for Series 6 modules initiated by its international fleet, the company said (See First Solar To Establish New U.S. Production Facility in South Carolina)