Located about 200 miles east of Los Angeles, the Blythe project is California's first and largest utility-scale PV thin-film solar generation facility, and among the largest in North America, First Solar says.

Construction began in September and is expected to be completed by year-end. Electricity from the solar PV thin-film plant will be sold to Southern California Edison under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

Blythe solar power plant is expected to generate over 45 GWh of electricity per year.

First Solar will provide operations and maintenance services at Blythe under a long-term contract with NRG Energy. Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.