Florida to Build First Solar Powered City in U.S.
The first 100% solar powered city in the U.S. is in the works, and will be powered by the world’s largest photovoltaic plant.
The eco-city, called Babcock Ranch, is a joint venture between a real estate developer, Kitson & Partners, and Florida Power & Light, and will be located near Fort Myers, Florida.
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Babcock Ranch will include almost 20,000 houses and 6 million square feet of mixed retail, office, and light industrial space, and have city-wide wireless internet and electric car charging stations throughout.
The city will be fully powered by solar during the day, and produce an excess of electricity that will be exported to the grid. The CEO of Kitson said the project will serve as a model to other communities and be a “living laboratory for companies, workers and families ready to reap the rewards of innovation.”
Florida Power & Light expects to break ground on the $400 million solar PV plant this year, pending regulatory approval. Construction of Babcock Ranch is slated for the summer of 2010.
The project’s cost is estimated at $2 billion, and is expected to create 20,000 jobs.
Image: markus941 at Flickr under CC License
Yay I live in Orlando, FL.
Except they should rename the city. Any name with cock in it is grounds for credibility loss.
It is a start. A project on this scale, if it succeeds, could provide powerful incentives and proof-of-concept to retrofit the power supply of other small cities and portions of larger cities, and eventually, entire large cities.
Look at the cost.
Home sites for Saudi Oil Shieks or Mexican Drug Lords?
The cost to fabricte and maintain such solar panels will only be bearable by our Gov.
It’s great technology to continue to develop - but:
Don’t get excited until the natural gas and coal have been depleted.
There’s a reason fosil fuels are so prevalent - they are the most efficient sources of power currently available. (other than nuclear) Coal provides the absolute cheapest electricity on the grid by a wide margin.
I don’t want to hear how envornomently friendly the solar ceilings will be. Eveything becomes “indoors” - not to friendly to the creatures living there.
@Harry
^o) Huh? Why would having solar panels… Make everything “indoors”? I’m afraid your logic there may be a tad flawed.
And also, i do believe that solar panels would be a wonderful place for lizards to gather at to warm themselves up; solar panels not being all that efficient.
Coal has a major price: massive CO2 releases, thereby heating up the planet (perhaps). So, yes, it IS the cheapest monetarily, but the moment you include environmental concerns it is one of the worst fuels you can use. Keep up, my dear.
Oh, and about not getting excited until our fossil fuels have been depleted? Isn’t that leaving it a tad late? Only getting into using alternative methods when we’ve completely run out of our current idea?
Boy, am i glad you aren’t in charge of anything important.
“Wait until fossil fuels are depleted”???!!!! That’s the mentality that has Global Warming progressed as far as it has, possibly to far to reverse! Yeah, I’ll get all Kinds of excited about the posibility of an alternate means of energy that is FAR more eco friendly! Not to mention the posibility of being able to have meaningfull employment (I’m an electrition, and hope to be a part of the project). Can’t wait to see other states jump in and try their own solar cities, and Really look forward to electric cars produced on a mass scale, thereby increaseing their affordablity.
Looks like all these oil stock owners are out tonight eating up our energy.
The cost isn’t that bad actually… $2 billion for 20,000 homes and the energy to sustain them amounts to about $100k/home, which is low enough to actually generate a PROFIT from the development. A potentially HUGE profit.
Coal is a thing of the past, it’s dirty and it’s time to move forward. Besides, coal requires ongoing work to extract and process. Solar, on the other hand, is mostly only subject to up-front costs, and its long-term costs go way down. If you had the choice between a solar plant and a coal plant that would both be running 50+ years, you’d go with solar, no?
How exciting, a futuristic city! I hope it all works out, the US could be on the map for clean energy in a big way. Get to work and be on the cutting edge instead of languishing.
Why are people not outraged by this development? Has anyone even looked at the forecasted sea-level rise maps for Florida? This whole section of the state will be underwater! And what about hurricanes? Studies have shown that it is highly likely that they will increase in frequency and intensity.
thats great for those bozoes but come to louisiana we could use this more the elet bills are hurting some famies to the point that there living with out power n the goverment of no help