BIG SUN IN CA

World’s biggest solar farm planned in California
Bernie Woodall, July 6, 2007 (Reuters)

WHO
Cleantech America LLC, Bill Barnes, CEO;
sounds like a good idea (click to enlarge)

WHAT
Cleantech America is behind Kings River Conservation District Community Choice Solar Farm, a 640 acre, 80-megawatt solar energy project, 7 times as large as the world’s biggest installation and twice as big as the biggest planned farm.

WHEN
The solar farm in scheduled to be completed in 2011.
Cleantech America is 2 years old.

WHERE
- Cleantech America is based in San Francisco.
- The installation will be in the San Joaquin Valley near Fresno, CA.
- Cleantech expects California, with this project, to displace Germany as the world “hub” in solar.
it doesn't get any better for solar than California (click to enlarge)

WHY
- Presently both the world’s biggest solar installation and the world’s biggest planned solar installation are in Germany. Fresno will be 17 times the size of the biggest US installation.
- Servicing 21,000 homes in Kings River Conservation District, 12 cities/2 counties in California's Central Valley.
- Cost not announced. Remaining: acreage purchase, transmission line hookup, panel manufacture contract.
- The Community Choice farm requires only approval by the California Energy Commission as a non-emitting self-generator project and local permits.
This is Cleantech’s 2nd announced project. 1st: 40 acres, 5 megawatts, near San Joaquin Valley’s Mendota, California. There will be more, also in the 80 megawatt size range.
- Cleantech partner: California Construction Authority

QUOTES
Barnes: "We're pretty confident that solar farms on this scale are going to have an industry-changing impact…We think it's the wave of the future. This scale of project, I think, creates a tipping point for renewable energy…We think the impact for it will be similar to the impact of the computer chip…So too will economies of scale like the Community Choice farm drive down the cost of solar…"