First Solar opens a $1.1B factory in Louisiana

First Solar has opened a new, fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Louisiana. This $1.1 billion investment marks another milestone for the U.S. solar industry and significantly boosts the company's production capacity. The approximately 223,000-square-meter factory in Iberia Parish currently employs over 700 people, with plans to increase that number to 826 by year's end. Once fully operational, the plant will add an annual capacity of 3.5 gigawatts. This will increase First Solar's U.S. manufacturing capacity to 14 GW in 2026 and to 17.7 GW in 2027, when its new facility in South Carolina is also fully operational