First Solar Inaugurates New $1.1 Billion AI-Enabled Louisiana Manufacturing Facility | FSLR Stock News

• First Solar’s fifth operating US manufacturing facility creates over 800 new manufacturing jobs
• Facility forecast to raise Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in first full year of operations at capacity
• Largest American solar manufacturer expects almost 18 GW of domestic production capacity in 2027

TEMPE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) (the “Company” or “First Solar”) today inaugurated its new fully vertically integrated manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. The $1.1 billion facility, which spans approximately 2.4 million square feet and is about 11 times the size of the New Orleans Superdome, currently employs over 700 people and is expected to have 826 employees by the end of the year. Once fully ramped, the Iberia Parish facility is expected to add 3.5 gigawatts (GW) of annual nameplate capacity, taking 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 Iberia Parish facility began production in July 2025, several months ahead of schedule. The accelerated timeline was driven by the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the Trump administration’s trade policies, both of which catalyzed demand for American-made solar technology that is fully compliant with anticipated Foreign Entities of Concern (FEOC) guidance. The facility, which has no dependencies on Chinese crystalline silicon supply chains, produces First Solar’s Series 7 modules using American materials including glass from Illinois and Ohio, and steel produced in Mississippi and fabricated into backrails 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. “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% 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.

“This is more than just a manufacturing facility. It’s a commitment to American energy dominance, affordable electricity, growth and prosperity,” said Mark Widmar, chief executive officer, First Solar. “By competitively producing energy technology in America with American materials, while creating American jobs, we’re demonstrating that US reindustrialization isn’t just a thesis, it’s an operating reality.”

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, while 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 Kuntal Kumar Verma, chief manufacturing officer, First Solar. “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 is already the largest solar technology manufacturing and research and development (R&D) footprint in the Western Hemisphere and includes three fully vertically integrated manufacturing facilities in Ohio, and one in Alabama, along with R&D centers in Ohio and California. Last week, the Company announced an investment in a new production line in Gaffney, South Carolina, to onshore final production processes for Series 6 modules initiated by its international fleet. Altogether, the Company, which expects to directly employ over 5,500 people in the US by the end of 2026, will have invested approximately $4.5 billion in American manufacturing and R&D infrastructure since 2019.

Having manufactured in the US since 2002, First Solar is the country’s leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. It is the only one of the world’s largest solar manufacturers to be headquartered in the US. By 2027, the Company expects to support over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, estimated to represent more than $3 billion in labor income.

About First Solar, Inc.

First Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSLR) is America's leading PV solar technology and manufacturing company. The only US-headquartered company among the world's largest solar manufacturers, First Solar is focused on competitively and reliably enabling power generation needs with its advanced, uniquely American thin film PV technology. Developed at research and development (R&D) labs in California and Ohio, the Company's technology represents the next generation of solar power generation, providing a competitive, high-performance, and responsibly produced alternative to conventional crystalline silicon PV modules. For more information, please visit www.firstsolar.com.

For First Solar Investors

This press release contains various “forward-looking statements” which are made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the expectations that: (i) the new Louisiana facility will add 3.5 GW of nameplate capacity once fully ramped; (ii) the facility will employ 826 people by the end of 2025; (iii) First Solar’s US nameplate capacity will rise to 14 GW in 2026 and 17.7 GW in 2027; (iv) the new facility will contribute an estimated $88.7 million in labor income per year and is forecast to raise Iberia Parish’s GDP by 4.4% in its first full year of operations at capacity; (v) First Solar will establish a new production facility in Gaffney, Cherokee County, South Carolina, to onshore final production processes for Series 6 modules initiated by the Company’s international fleet; (vi) our expectation that First Solar will directly employ over 5,500 people in the US by the end of 2026, supporting over 30,000 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the country, representing more than $3 billion in labor income. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the use of words such as “estimate,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “plan,” “intend,” “seek,” “believe,” “forecast,” “foresee,” “likely,” “may,” “should,” “goal,” “target,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “predict,” “continue” and the negative or plural of these words and other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are only predictions based on First Solar’s current expectations and First Solar’s projections about future events and therefore speak only as of the date of this release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. First Solar undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause First Solar’s actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the expected timing and likelihood of completion of the transaction; the risk that the parties may not be able to satisfy the conditions to the transaction in a timely manner or at all; and the matters discussed under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as supplemented by our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release contains references to data and information generated by economic studies conducted by the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and commissioned by the Iberia Economic Development Authority and First Solar. The study commissioned by First Solar is based on numerous assumptions, estimates and other data as more fully described in the report summarizing the study’s findings, which is available at www.firstsolar.com/USeconomy.

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Source: First Solar, Inc.