WASHINGTON — (CNN) The Salt River Project confirmed Apple is behind a massive solar project in the Arizona desert.

A spokesman for the utility said SRP created an incentive to lure Apple to Arizona, promising to build grid infrastructure, if Apple built a solar farm.

“A lot of companies looking to locate to a metro area are putting more of an emphasis on renewable energies,” Scott Harelson, with SRP, said.

The panels, which are outside the town of Florence, will produce 50 megawatts of power.

“That’s enough to serve 12,000 typical homes in our service territory,” Harelson said.

The solar power will offset Apple’s energy costs at its facility in Mesa.

SRP has agreed to purchase any surplus power, at a wholesale rate.

“For our customers, it’s a net neutral. We’d be buying similar products at the same price. This offsets the use of fossil fuels, and reduces our carbon footprint,” Harelson said.

Construction on the photo-voltaic panels is complete.

Apple is waiting for federal approval to begin sending power to the grid, according to SRP.