A private developer has announced plans to build the world's largest solar power plant of its kind in Washington state.

Teanaway Solar Reserve plans to build the 75-megawatt photovoltaic facility on 400 acres of former logging land north of Cle Elum in the central part of the state.

Teanaway Managing Director Howard Trott said the first question he keeps getting asked is whether there's enough sunlight in Washington to generate that kind of power.

"We kind of like the fact that people think we can't generate power and its not sunny here. We actually are a great source and we get over 300 days a year of sunshine," said Trott.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., joined Trott for Thursday's announcement pointing out after its completion the Teanaway Solar Reserve should generate enough power for 45,000 homes.

"It will be over five times larger than the largest solar photovoltaic installation in the U.S. today," beamed Cantwell.

At full capacity the facility will also push Washington state into second place among all states when it comes to the amount of solar power generated. California would continue to be the state producing the most solar power in the country.

"The amount of sunshine that hits the earth in 40 minutes is enough to power the entire planet for a year," says Trott, who has made his living developing green and alternative energy projects in the region.

In addition to the power plant, the company plans to build a solar panel manufacturing facility near Cle Elum and make all its own equipment. Trott says eventually he'd like to sell some of those panels to the general public as well.

Beyond saying he expects the combined projects to create hundreds of jobs in Kittitas County, Trott could not be more specific about the regional economic impact. He also declined to reveal exact price estimates for the project.

Teanaway has just begun the permitting process for this massive undertaking, but Trott still expects to be generating power by 2011.

To see a map of the proposed location and to read more information provided by the company, visit www.teanawaysolarreserve.com