First Solar’s Iberia factory was producing panels before its inauguration

First Solar’s Iberia Parish factory began producing solar panels in July 2025, months before its formal inauguration, according to the company’s November 21, 2025 announcement published by Louisiana Economic Development. The plant was already employing more than 700 people when that announcement was issued.

The company described a $1.1 billion facility spanning about 2.4 million square feet. Its anticipated workforce of 826 by the end of 2025 was a target in that release, distinct from the employment reported on inauguration day. November 2025 announcement.

First Solar said the factory makes Series 7 modules, with American glass and steel among its inputs. The release described steel produced in Mississippi and fabricated into backrails in Louisiana. It also put annual nameplate capacity at 3.5 gigawatts once fully ramped—a production-capacity expectation, not a tally of panels already shipped.

Another announcement shows the work extending into a different parish. On September 9, 2025, LED reported that Noble Plastics planned an $8.5 million expansion at its Grand Coteau headquarters in St. Landry Parish to supply First Solar’s Iberia facility. Noble Plastics announcement.

LED said First Solar selected the injection-molding business to make components for the panels’ connection and energy-transfer systems. The proposed expansion included additional manufacturing capability, warehouse space and offices. Noble expected construction to begin in the third quarter of 2025 and finish at the end of 2026; those were announced plans, not a completion report.

The September release projected 29 new direct jobs at Noble while retaining 56 existing positions. Those jobs belong to the supplier’s St. Landry operation and should not be folded into the Iberia factory’s headcount.

The two announcements describe different stages of industrial growth: a factory reporting production and employment, and an established nearby manufacturer preparing to supply it. Together they give the regional solar industry a concrete geography, with panel production in Iberia and a planned component expansion in Grand Coteau.