Gov. Touts Solar Energy Near Elk Grove

The future of renewable energy for the United States lies in California solar farms like the one just outside Elk Grove, Gov. Jerry Brown said Friday on a visit to the Eschinger Road location.

"We're going forward and we're going to build," said Brown, who along with U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stopped by the site of

Brown and Salazar signed an agreement expanding an existing partnership between the state and federal governments aimed at creating clean energy jobs.

"The sun is also shining in Northern California," Brown said. "We want to use our resources, which are our people and the sun and other sources of power."

Under the agreement, both levels of government will work together to plan and speed approval of renewable energy projects, including transmission facilities to bring the electricity generated to end users.

The gathering took place at a site that will produce about 15 megawatts of power for the Sacramento Municipal Utilities District under a 20-year contract.

Google is also an investor in the farm and several others Recurrent is building in the Sacramento area. Recurrent Energy’s four Sacramento-area projects are expected to generate 160 million kWh of electricity in year one, which is roughly equivalent to the electricity consumption of 12,000 average American homes, officials said.

The stop is part of a three-day trip by Salazar to Arizona and California, where he is promoting the Obama administration's message that the clean-energy economy can lead to job growth, The Associated Press reported.

"Each of these projects come with jobs and those jobs are here in America," Salazar said. "On behalf of President Obama...we believe the future of the United States of America depends on renewable energy."

Arno Harris, chief executive officer for Recurrent Energy, showed Brown and Salazar around the sites.

"This project reflects the role solar and renewable energy can play in today's economy," Harris said. "A project like this stands on the shoulders of those who believed in solar energy."