How A Solar Community, Babcock Ranch Of SW Florida, Withstood The Wrath Of Ian
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
Solar Arrays at Babcock Ranch (Attribution: EdisonAwards at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c26lA2tjD5Y&t=131s, Presented at: WindermereSun.com)
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
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About 14 miles (16 miles by road) Northeast of Fort Myers (the most heavily impacted city in Florida by Tropical Storm Ian), the Babcock Ranch, America’s first 100% solar community came through Tropical Storm Ian without loss of power and with minimal damage. A 68 year old Babcock Ranch resident said, “We have water, electricity, internet. We may be the only people in Southwest Florida who are that fortunate.” Many residents at Babcock Ranch believe that it is proof that an eco-conscious and solar-powered town can withstand the wrath of a near-Category 5 storm. Its nearby solar array, composed of 70,000 solar panels, generate more power than needed by its 2,000 home neighborhood. In addition to meeting Florida’s robust building codes, streets of Babcock were designed to flood so that houses wouldn’t, with native landscaping along the road helping to control storm water, while power and internet lines buried below ground to avoid wind damage. Some residents also installed additional solar panels on their roofs and added battery systems for extra protection from power outages. Many residents also drive electric vehicles to take full advantage of the sunshine. Climate resiliency was built into the fabric of this community with stronger storms in mind. So when Tropical Storm/Hurricane Ian obliterated the nearby Fort Myers and Naples areas with record breaking surge and winds over 100 mph, knocking out power for more than 2.6 million users in Florida, including the 90% of Charlotte County, power, light, and internet stayed on in Babcock Ranch!
Founder and developer of Babcock Ranch, Syd Kitson, planned for 440 acre of solar array, and 20,000 homes powered by the sun. Kitson’s company purchased 91,000 acres of land and then sold 80% of it to the state of Florida to be preserved forever, and use the remaining property, composed of mostly former farm and rock mining land, to create a sustainable community with more than 8,000 acres for green space and home to 50,000 people, to demonstrate that going green is good for business. The development requires all the homes and commercial buildings to be certified green by the Florida Green Building Coalition. In addition to using the solar energy to power Bobcock Ranch, water conservation also plays an important part of shaping the design of this community, mimicing nature and preventing problems associated with algal bloom.
Developers in Florida and every where, this is the way of the future!
To find out more about Babcock Ranch of Florida, please click HERE or read the excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below:
Babcock Ranch is a planned community located in southeastern Charlotte County and northeastern Lee County, Florida consisting of approximately 17,000 acres (6,900 ha).[2] The planned community was approved as part of a public-private partnership with the State of Florida and local governments. The deal established the neighboring Babcock Ranch Preserve.[3]
Plans for the future town of Babcock Ranch were announced in 2005 by real estate development firm Kitson & Partners as part of a complex real estate transaction that facilitated the largest conservation land acquisition in Florida history.[4] In 2009, the company joined with Florida Power & Light to announce plans to make Babcock Ranch the first solar-powered city in the United States.[5] A large photovoltaic power station[6] and a network of rooftop solar panels on commercial buildings, planned to be expanded over time, are intended to send more renewable power into the Florida electrical grid than the city consumes.[7]
To find out more about Babcock Ranch in Southwest Florida, I bring you these videos below:
In the video published by EdisonAwards, in 2021, as “A Profile of Babcock Ranch in SW Florida“, below:
In the video published by Luna Noel, PLLC – Realtor – Southwest Florida, in 2021, as “Living in Fort Myers, FL – Babcock Ranch“, below:
In the video published by PBS NewsHour, in 2019, as “Can an entire town run on solar?” below:
In the video published by CC-TV Charlotte County, FL, in 2018, as “Babcock Ranch: News You Can Use“, below:
In the video published by CBS Mornings, in 2018, as “Inside Florida’s solar-powered Babcock Ranch“, below:
Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com
We Need Fair Value of Solar
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Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
www.kiva.org/team/sunisthefuture
