The Phoenix Arizona City Council voted to award the city’s largest ever solar power project to Tessera Solar, according to a press release on the city website.

The utility-scale solar power plant will be constructed at the city’s only active landfill in Buckeye, Arizona. The plant is scheduled to be operational by the end of 2012 and is projected to provide power to 50,000 homes. The press release goes on to state that the project will generate up to 250 megawatts of power and, “Phoenix will be the first city in the country to implement a concentrated solar thermal system of this scale. The city of Phoenix will work closely with Tessera and with local institutions to promote renewable energy education and research and development opportunities.”

“This innovative project is part of the city’s 17-point Green Phoenix plan,” said Mayor Phil Gordon, “it will promote clean energy and create hundreds of local jobs.”

“The sun is the biggest power plant in the universe, and with this project we will be able to tap some of its energy to create jobs and clean power for thousands of residents,” said council woman Peggy Neely, who chairs the City Council subcommittee that focuses on sustainability.