Solar plant to be built on reservation land in California

LAUGHLIN — Representatives of First Solar, Inc., met privately with town officials last week to announce that the company will construct a local solar plant after all, on tribal land south of Laughlin. 

The project will be done in partnership with Tribal Solar LLC.

The 310-megawatt Fort Mojave Solar Project will be constructed on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation and will connect to the switchyard at the former Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin via a 230kV transmission line. Southern California Edison, one of the four owners of the MGS facility, has signed a 20-year agreement to purchase the power from the plant once it is constructed. 

The photovoltaic array will be located on the west side of the Colorado River, just south of the Nevada/California border. 

The permitting process will begin this month, said Laura Abram, director of public affairs for First Solar. Construction is expected to begin in 2017, and the project is set to be completed by 2019. 

“We are excited to be moving forward on the Fort Mojave Solar project, which will bring jobs and economic benefits to Laughlin and Clark County,” Abram told the Laughlin Nevada Times. 

“The project will create about 350 construction jobs, generate economic benefits from use of hotels and services in Laughlin, and will provide important infrastructure for future development. 

“First Solar is very enthusiastic about the opportunities for solar in Laughlin and looks forward to a long working relationship with the residents of this area.”

Last week’s visit to Laughlin by First Solar representatives was not its first. In August 2014, the company announced its desire to construct the world’s fourth largest solar generating facility south of Laughlin on the same land that had been set aside for purchase by China-based ENN Energy. 

The company was outbid, however, by Florida-based Next-Era Energy Resources.