Parish leaders used the Nov. 19 council meeting to highlight First Solar’s new manufacturing facility and an upcoming ribbon-cutting scheduled for Nov. 21.

Parish staff said the facility represents one of the largest economic-development projects in parish history and credited infrastructure improvements for helping bring the investment. Council members who toured the plant described state-of-the-art equipment, an expansive facility that requires a golf cart to traverse and early projections of up to 1,000 direct jobs plus additional feeder employment.

Members encouraged other council members to tour the site; an open ribbon-cutting event and public session were announced for Nov. 21 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.