First Solar begins production at its Louisiana factory

First Solar/Series 7 CdTe module

First Solar's $1.1B Iberia Parish, Louisiana factory began making Series 7 modules in July 2025, ahead of schedule, and will add 3.5 GW a year once fully ramped. It employed over 700 people by its November inauguration and uses computer vision to spot defective panels on the line.

• Series 7 modules produced from American materials (glass from Illinois/Ohio, steel from Mississippi).
• No Chinese crystalline silicon supply chain dependencies.
• 3.5 GW annual capacity once ramped; brings US total to 14 GW in 2026, 17.7 GW in 2027.
• AI computer vision and deep learning detect defects automatically during production.