Blythe, Central Valley Business Times

What's described by its owners as the largest photovoltaic solar power plant yet in California has been turned on and is sending electricity to customers of Southern California Edison.

First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) of Tempe, Ariz., developed and built the 21-megawatt (MW) power plant in Blythe. The plant was acquired last month by NRG Energy Inc. (NYSE: NRG) of Princeton, N.J., through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar. Electricity generated by the solar facility is being sold to Southern California Edison, a unit of Edison International (NYSE: EIX) under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Located in Riverside County, the Blythe plant is the largest thin film PV project in the United States and is five times the size of the next largest PV project in California, says NRG. At peak capacity, the project can supply the power needs of almost 17,000 homes, the company says.

Approximately 175 people built Blythe during its three-month construction and installation period.

"Solar is the great untapped resource in California, and we are pleased to be part of this significant milestone for solar development in our state," says Marc Ulrich, SCE vice president for renewable and alternative power.

First Solar says the Blythe plant is a model for its future large-scale solar developments. "The development, project finance and construction of this solar plant demonstrate First Solar's capabilities in utility scale projects," says Bruce Sohn, president of First Solar.

First Solar will provide operations and maintenance services at Blythe under a long-term contract with NRG.