Tempe, Ariz.-based First Solar Inc. recently broke ground a 250-MW solar project on the 71,954-acre Moapa River Indian Reservation, 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas. The Cadmium Telluride thin-film ground-mounted photovoltaic array, on 2,000 acres, includes construction of a new substation and a 5.5-mile, 500-kV transmission line connecting to Nevada Power Co.’s nearby Crystal Substation. It marks the first utility-scale solar project on a Native American reservation. First Solar photovoltaic modules have a record 17% conversion efficiency, confirmed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The Moapa facility will generate 706,650-mWh annually or enough power for 118,000 households, with all of the electricity going to the Los Angeles Dept. of Water and Power under a 25-year power purchase agreement signed in 2012. The plant will account for 2.4% of LADWP’s renewables portfolio, while offsetting 345,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions or the equivalent of 60,000 cars annually. It will additionally displace 156,000 tons of water consumption annually. Plant construction will create up to 400 jobs, plus 10 permanent positions upon completion in late 2015.
