Sometimes, good news is a little like cold butter -- it takes a little time to spread it around. The developers of a proposed 40-acre solar energy "farm" near Mendota announced this week that they've gotten the final environmental approval for the project.

Sure, it happened in March, says Bill Barnes, CEO of San Francisco-based Cleantech America Inc. But it's a major step and clears the way for the company to file its applications for grading and building permits on the project, which will use solar panels to generate about 5 megawatts of electricity.

"We got behind on getting the word out," Barnes admits. "But getting the environmental clearance is one of the biggest challenges for any project like this, so we wanted to make sure people knew about it."

Barnes said the Mendota City Council voted a couple of months ago to approve a declaration that Cleantech's CalRENEW-1 facility will have no significant environmental impacts on the site -- a plot of former farmland near a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. substation near the city. There's also a biomass power-generating plant nearby.

"We're forming a little 'green energy' park out there," Barnes said.

Once the company files its permit applications, Barnes said he expects approval by the city within about a month. "Once the city approves, we're ready to begin turning dirt," he said.

It's going to be a big job. The installation of photovoltaic panels which convert sunlight directly into electricity will cover 40 acres, making it one of the largest such projects in the country, according to information from the company. The project may employ as many as 65 people to install and maintain the panels and provide as many as 100 manufacturing jobs -- a key consideration in a community where the unemployment rate has climbed to more than 41%.

"The west side of the Valley is a good area for photovoltaic solar power," Barnes said. "When land has been farmed, there's less chance of disturbing endangered species of plants or animals."

Cleantech's contract to sell electricity to PG&E requires the project to be operational by April 30, 2010, but Barnes said he hopes CalRENEW-1 will be producing power by this December.