Planned Florida city aims for solar self-sufficiency

This illustration offers a glimpse of what the planned city of Babcock Ranch might look like.

(Credit: Kitson & Partners)

One of the world's biggest photovoltaic projects is planned for southwest Florida. Florida Power & Light will spend $350 million to build a 75-megawatt photovoltaic solar plant at a planned city, Babcock Ranch, near Fort Myers, the company announced Thursday.

Construction could begin late this year, subject to state regulatory approvals.

Eric Silagy, the ultility's chief development officer, said at a press conference that the company's photovoltaic project is larger than any previously announced.

"We are extremely excited to be building one of the world's largest solar photovoltaic projects, once the state legislative and regulatory authorities have taken the necessary actions for us to move forward," said Silagy.

A 60MW photovoltaic solar plant in Spain has been in operation since 2008, according to PV Resources. But the Babcock Ranch plant could be the largest if it reaches 75MW output--before somebody else does. Photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity.

The developers, Kitson & Partners, hope that Babcock Ranch will be the world's first city to get all its energy from renewable solar energy.

"The FPL solar plant will be inside Babcock Ranch. Along with solar panels on the roofs of buildings citywide, it will be a revolutionary leap forward in clean energy for an urban area," said Syd Kitson, CEO of Kitson & Partners, in a statement.

The Sierra Club's national clean-energy representative and the World Wildlife Fund support the project and hope that it will influence other U.S. cities.

Babcock Ranch will be wireless-enabled using an ultrahigh-capacity "digital pipeline" that will support the use of current and emerging technologies, plus clean-tech efforts, according to press materials.

(Credit: Kitson & Partners)

"Electric vehicles, able to plug in for recharge at convenient community-wide recharging stations, will glide along avenues beneath the glow of solar-powered street lamps. Ingenious, revolutionary Smart Grid technologies will monitor and manage energy use while Smart Home technology will allow residents to operate their homes at maximum efficiency, thereby reducing energy costs," Kitson & Partners writes on the Babcock Ranch home page.

Florida Power & Light also hopes that the solar-powered city will generate so much power that it will be able to serve the grid with additional electricity. Kitson & Partners hopes that the Babcock Ranch will become a test bed for clean-tech companies. "Babcock Ranch will be a living laboratory for companies, workers and families ready to reap the rewards of innovation," said Kitson in a statement.

The city of Babcock Ranch will include 6 million square feet of retail, commercial, office, civic, and light industrial space. The entire project is expected to cost $2 billion. Projected prices for the planned 19,500 homes were not provided, but the homes should be "affordable for workers and families across the economic spectrum," according to Kitson & Partners.

[gerrrg]

All those PV could be susceptible to damage from flying debris in a hurricane. Maybe they should invest in wind energy and massive battery storage instead?

[mc581]

I am puzzled. What happens when the sun goes down? Nobody has addressed that issue that I am aware of.

[ckh1272]

The energy is stored so that there is enough energy 24/7.

[mc581]

As I said what happens when it gets dark . . . you know . . . night time???

[DrStrangelove23]

Yeah. Its all fun and games until somebody hacks into the "smart" grid. I'll take places I won't move to for $500, Alex!

[billmosby]

All its energy? Tell us about the storage. Or will people just use candles at night there? And pedal a generator to keep the fridge going?

[Sashok16]

This is awesome! Finally - a city here in the US of A that is engineered to be self-sufficient, green, etc. To answer some questions:
-what happens when the sun goes down? The PV technology STORES electricity to be converted - so it can operate at nighttime from the excess sun electricity that was captured during the day.
-Hurricanes and PV cells are a good question - I guess they'll have to be "hideable" in some way - like when a hurricane comes, perhaps they will "hide" and tuck in and thus be irresistible to damage and becoming airbourne.

If a hurricane does come, here we go with the wind turbines!

[Atlas_]

Stories like this are so sad. All that cash wasted on PV solar (the MOST expensive green energy method) and segways. How well does that little two wheeled scooter drive in a storm (it rains alot in Florida). Even worse what about all the money in replacing PV tiles that get broken in a hurricane (imagine having to put plywood over all that PV solar roof panels every couple of years)

I hate that our choices in life are pollution causing cars and coal power plants VS. crappy low power weak performance vehicles and weak as a kitten power infrastructure.

But as long as Nuclear is off the table I will be sticking to gasoline cars and coal fired power plants.

[ledhead1962]

Yes resist change with your last breath. God forbid someone did something positive in moving forward. Just imagine how nice life would be if on we had stayed safe in our caves. Is change really so terrifying to you? You hate that coal etc. but rather then strive for new answers you would rather pull a rock across the entrance to your hole in the ground and hope the sky doesn't fall. Waste of money? As opposed to what? Slow death. Posts like this are so sad.

[biffhenerson]

I agree. Nuclear is cost effective. Wind and solar cost way way way more than they produce. I think that we all would like to move forward. But some of us dont want to be foolish about it. Why flush money down the toilet? Once wind and solar are better choices, I would be happy to head that direction. For now, it is foolish to waste the money. I will wait for version 2.0!

[riodejaneiro2007]

Nuclear is great until something happens. Google Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. Accidents have happened and will again.<br /><br />Also, would anyone move to a planned community that had a nuclear or coal fired power plant in their back yard? I think not.

[iamarcin]

I don't want to be discouraging but:
someone is going to have to pay this back in taxes.

I would definitely want them to do that in my town.
And you would not get those hurricane questions in NY. If it does happen it will be a hard blow toward the faith in pv technology.

[darkebinary]

I would like to see if they have any plans for growth in this community. Most planned developments like this typically expand beyong what's originally drawn out. They've already annouced that is has grown from their original plan. I think this is a step in the right direction, but I don't think it will be a final solution once the cost and vulenability of this type of grid come into play. At least there is some innovation happening here.

[dentcat]

They missed the boat...may be they should have done it like SSTP...garbage to electric without pollution is the most effective way. Sustainable power corp.(SSTP) in Baytown Texas intends to principally utilize its biofuels and gas to generate electricity. They have applied for and intend to sell electricity into the ERCOT market in Baytown, Texas. They are in the process of applying for an "Interconnect Agreement" with ERCOT to sell up to 462 MWH of its electricity into the retail electric market.
Fact to consider and compare: The amount that the SSTP process in 8 1/2 minutes can produce from 1 ton of a particular food crop is about 70-80 gallons of biofuel. Also, SSTP can produce approximately 200 gallons of fuel oil from one ton of crop waste, almost three times more that the conversion ratio of food crops to fuel. Not only can SSTP produce clean burning cost effective fuel that places no strain on the environment or natural resources, there is no pollution and toxins produced and we can now actually help to reduce the total amount of municipal waste, a major concern to all modern societies
Even wind can't match the results and remember ...wind is not always around....garbage is.

[TV James]

So... this is a planned city, and this is the name they chose? Wow. Guessing someone involved with a big wallet and an even bigger ego named Babcock?

[bmw28]

Please do your research before posting a comment. Babcock was the name of the 92000 acre ranch Kitson purchased and it has been in Florida forever. That is why the city will be named Babcock, NOT because of a person's "big wallet".