07/04/2022
What can environmental justice look like when cities and municipalities take the lead? Driving across southern Nevada on I-15 one sees sprawling solar arrays in the desert.
The Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project is a 250-megawatt (MW) alternative current solar array located on roughly 2,000 acres of the Moapa River Indian Reservation in Clark County, Nevada. The project is the first large-scale solar project to receive construction approval on a tribal land in North America. It was constructed and is operated by First Solar, who began the project in 2014 after acquiring it from K Road Power Holdings, LLC. The project, which became operational in 2017, provided 115 jobs to tribal and other Native Americans during construction.
The solar array uses 3.2 million advanced photovoltaic thin firm solar modules, which translates to more than 25 million square footage worth of solar panels. It generates enough solar energy to serve approximately 111,000 homes, removing about 341,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually or the equivalent to eliminating 73,000 cars from the roads. An on-site substation and 5.5-mile, 500 kilovolt transmission line connect the solar arrays to the existing Crystal Substation that serves energy users in California.
The Moapa Southern Paiute Solar Project has a Power Purchase Agreement with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to deliver clean solar energy for 25 years. It will generate millions of dollars in income for the Tribe, increase State and local tax revenues, plus create benefits for many local businesses. The project is also expected to help the City of Los Angeles achieve 50 percent of all energy from renewable resources by 2025.
