State, regional and local elected officials along with executives with solar panel manufacturer First Solar broke ground Thursday on a $1.1 billion manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, a project officials say will benefit the entire region.
Ohio-based First Solar, the largest solar module manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere, celebrated the start of the two-year construction project at the Acadiana Regional Airport; it will be the company’s fifth manufacturing site. State and elected officials have tabbed it as the largest capital investment ever in the region.