The Kings River Conservation District Community Choice Solar Farm would generate green power for 20,800 homes and would be seven times larger than the world's current largest solar plant and double the largest planned facility, both of which are located in Germany. Media reports say many details of the latest announcement have yet to be finalised, including costs and the exact location in west Fresno County.

The firm is working under an agreement with the Kings River Conservation District, the water management arm of the San Joaquin Valley Power Authority.

In the earlier announcement, Cleantech America said it has signed a long-term power purchase agreement with Pacific Gas & Electric to provide green power from CalRENEW‑1, a facility that will be completed in 2009. Located near PG&E’s Mendota substation in Fresno County, CalRENEW‑1 will cover 40 acres with solar panels and will serve as a peaking facility.

“Providing zero‑emission green energy in San Joaquin Valley, an area long suffering from some of the worst air quality and highest levels of associated health problems, makes good social, economic and environmental sense,” says Bill Barnes of Cleantech America. “This is the true potential of green photovoltaic solar energy.”

“The Central Valley is ideal for solar power; it has great sun characteristics and the economic development potential is enormous,” he adds. “We have already seen strong indications that utility scale solar projects like CalRENEW‑1 will attract renewable energy manufacturing, R&D and related jobs‑creating industry. We are currently negotiating with PG&E and others for substantially larger projects, which will potentially be announced in the near future.”

CalRENEW‑1 will use a variety of solar PV technologies and will be designed, built and operated by Cleantech America’s partner, California Construction Authority which has 6 MW of PV in operation and another 2 MW under development, including a 800 kW solar installation at the Big Fresno Fair. No cost was disclosed for the earlier project.

“The San Joaquin Valley applauds PG&E’s leadership in pursuing our state’s renewable energy and climate goals with environmentally clean solar power,” says Fresno mayor Alan Autry. “We are particularly pleased with the proposed CalRENEW‑1 project to be installed and operated by Cleantech America in Fresno County. The triple benefits of such projects to air quality, energy self‑sufficiency and job creation are a blessing for the Valley.”

Under a California state mandate, PG&E must source 20% of its customer power from renewables by 2010.

Other recent announcements of solar facilities in that region of California include the 1.13 MW $3.2 million system at P‑R Farms and Paramount Farms' $7.5 million 1.1 MW system in Kern County. The 80 MW plant would dwarf the 4.6 MW Springerville generating station near Tucson, Arizona, which is the largest facility in the U.S., and would be larger than the 15 MW system planned for Nevada.

In California, the largest solar power systems are the 3 MW Rancho Seco operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the 2.3 MW facility run by the County of Alameda in Oakland, Alameda, Hayward, Dublin and Fremont.