First Solar Inc., the world’s biggest maker of thin-film photovoltaic panels Edison has signed a contract to sell the electricity from a 250-megawatt Nevada solar farm to Edison International’s (EIX) California utility, the companies announced Wednesday.

"This agreement represents another important milestone toward our goal of grid parity," said Frank De Rosa, First Solar senior vice president in a statement.

Terms of the contract, which requires California regulators’ approval, were not disclosed. The contract is subject to California Public Utilities Commission approval.

The solar power panels will be ground mounted on 2,500 acres of public land in Nevada and will be named the Silver State South.

The project is expected to begin producing electricity as early as 2014 and be fully operational by May 2017. It will create about 300 construction jobs, and the solar panels will be recycled after their useful life-span.

The facility will dwarf First Solar’s adjacent Silver State North, which will produce 50 megawatts of alternating current. That plant will sell power to Nevada utility NV Energy Inc. under a 25-year contract signed a year ago.

This emission-free power source will help the Rosemead-based utility in efforts to reduce its carbon footprint.

"When we get projects of this magnitude, we make great progress toward our renewable energy goals," said Marc Ulrich, Edison’s vice president of renewable and alternative power.

In December, First Solar sold a 290-megawatt solar farm that it is developing in Arizona to NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) for an undisclosed amount. NRG has said it plans to invest $800 million of equity in that project, which would be the largest solar-panel power generator in the world. In January, NRG obtained a $967 million federal loan guarantee for the project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2014. PG&E Corp.’s (PCG) California utility has signed a long-term contract to buy the power from the facility.

In 2009, Edison delivered 13.6 billion kilowatt hours of renewable power to its customers, about 17 percent of its total power portfolio.

First Solar, based out of Tempe, Ariz., is developing the project, named Silver State

"This agreement represents another important milestone toward our goal of grid parity," said Frank De Rosa, First Solar senior vice president in a statement.

The company is the largest manufacturer of thin-film solar modules, having expanded manufacturing capacity to an annualized run rate of 59.6 megawatts per line in the 3rd quarter of 2010.