(The Center Square) – First Solar on Friday unveiled its $1.1 billion manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, bringing more than 800 jobs to the local economy.
The New Iberia plant spans approximately 2.4 million square feet and has a footprint about 11 times the size of the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, according to First Solar. More than 700 people currently work at the plant, which began producing solar panels months ahead of schedule in July.
The company said it expects to employ 826 workers at the facility by the end of the year. Manufacturing positions pay $90,000 per year on average, according to First Solar.
First Solar said the plant’s technology automatically finds defects in solar panels during production, while AI-powered tools enable technicians 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 Kuntal Kumar Verma, First Solar’s chief manufacturing officer.
“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,” said Verma.
The New Iberia facility produces the company’s Series 7 modules using American materials that include glass from Illinois and Ohio and steel produced in Mississippi, which is then fabricated in Louisiana into backrails. The plant is not dependent on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains, First Solar said.
First Solar’s American manufacturing plants will be able to produce solar panels capable of generating 14 gigawatts of power in 2026 and 17.7 gigawatts in 2027. The Iberia Parish facility will have annual nameplate capacity of 3.5 gigawatts, the company said.
