San Francisco-based Cleantech America, LLC says it will build a solar power farm possibly a square mile in size… making it seven times bigger than the world’s largest and 17 times bigger than anything else of its kind in America.
This story from CNN.com says the project is slated to be completed in 2011 and would produce 80 megawatts of electricity:
Bill Barnes, CEO of Cleantech, said the scale of the Kings River Conservation District Community Choice Solar Farm will change renewable energy and make California the global leader for huge solar projects and replace Germany as the solar energy hub of the world.
“We’re pretty confident that solar farms on this scale are going to have an industry-changing impact,” Barnes said by telephone on Friday. “We think it’s the wave of the future. This scale of project, I think, creates a tipping point for renewable energy.”
Barnes declined to give the estimated construction cost of the Community Choice farm.
“We think the impact for it will be similar to the impact of the computer chip,” which gained computing power once made on a large scale, Barnes said.
When finished, the project will power almost 21,000 homes. Cleantech also has plans to build another 80-megawatt plant… if enough California land can be found.