Saturday, April 18, 2009

A 100% Solar Powered City


Florida is set to create the world's first 100% solar powered city, Babcock Ranch, which will be powered by the world’s largest photovoltaic plant. In a joint venture between a housing developer, Kitson & Partners, and the Florida Power & Light company, the new development will be built close to Fort Myers. Babcock Ranch plans to create just under 20,000 houses with another 2 million square meters of shopping, commercial and semi-industrial development. The city will also be layed out with city-wide Wi-Fi and electric car charging stations.

The city will generate 100% of its power through solar means during the day, and then at night switch to an excess of electricity produced during the day that is exported to the grid. Construction of the $400 million solar plant is due to begin this year, with develoment of Babcock Ranch to commence during the summer of 2010. The whole project is estimated to cost $2 billion and to create 20,000 jobs.

No comments: