New City in Florida to Run on Solar Power

You can probably guess by our tagline that OHM is a company that is pretty interested in communities. Here's a story that seems ripped, not from the headlines, but directly from a Star Trek episode. While there are some qualifications to the concept (it will rely on conventional power sources during the evening hours), the ideas sure sound intriguing. Here come the flying cars...

New City in Florida to Run on Solar Power
Originally printed in the Miami Herald (04/10/09) ; Dorschner, John

A developer named Kitson & Partners wants to create a city in Florida powered entirely by solar energy. The new city would be called Babcock Ranch and have about 19,500 energy efficient homes. The city would be built on 17,000 acres near Fort Myers, FL, and would feature the globe's biggest photovoltaic power plant, which would be operated by Florida Power & Light (FPL). FPL forecasts that the planned 75 MW solar generator will cost roughly $300 million and will add approximately 31 cents to its average customer's monthly bill. Kitson envisions that FPL's solar plant will generate more electricity for the state's power grid during daylight hours than the city will consume in 24 hours. Although Babcock Ranch will rely on conventional power sources during evening hours, its net impact will enable it to be considered a solar-only city. The plant's solar panels will be situated on 350 acres within the development. Kitson also said Babcock Ranch will have an integrated 'smart grid' allowing electricity users to track and control their power use. The Babcock solar project will be the fourth planned by FPL; the first three total 110 MW and were proposed after the state Legislature passed legislation for full-cost recovery of the projects.