The project, located on the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, is the first large-scale solar project approved to be built on tribal land in North America. The project has in place a 25 year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP).

Construction of the project, situated within a 2,000-acre segment of the Moapa Band of Paiutes tribal land, could start as soon as the fourth quarter of 2013, and be completed by the end of 2015. First Solar will design and build the project, using its Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) thin film solar modules.

"First Solar is proud to participate in this landmark project on lands where it can benefit the economic development of the Moapa Paiute tribe and serve clean energy to the City of Los Angeles," said Jim Hughes, First Solar's CEO.

In its first year of operation, the Moapa Solar Project will generate enough clean energy to power approximately 100,000 average homes. The project will advance tribal economic competitiveness and job creation, serve as an example of tribal energy self-sufficiency and sustainability, and encourage further renewable energy projects on tribal land.