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World's first solar powered city planned for Florida
Thursday, April 30, 2009
An ambitious US plan to develop what is being dubbed the world's first totally solar-powered city has run into immediate problems.
Florida's Republican controlled legislature is playing hardball with a comprehensive energy bill that utility firm Florida Power and Light (FPL) says is required for it to start work on a 75MW solar farm array at Babcock Ranch in the south west of the state.
The developer of Babcock Ranch, Sydney Kitson, said he wanted to start building the 20,000 home city in June but is worried the political wrangling will cause problems for the project, such as backtracking by light-industrial companies which were planning to relocate to the area.
FPL said the array will cost around $400m (£269m) and while it is is expected to access a number of tax breaks and receive 30 per cent of the funding from President Obama's stimulus plan, the company is pressuring Florida state politicians for further incentives.
Typically Florida Republicans kowtow to big business but, according to some observers they are finding it difficult to abandon their climate-sceptic roots and are reluctant to be seen to push the President’s alternative energy agenda.
According to Kitson, Babcock Ranch is intended to be one of the world's greenest developments, and if the project proceeds it could one day be home to the world's largest solar photovoltaic power plant.
Under the plans, the solar panels will sit on 350 acres within the city, providing the city with all its electricity needs. More than half of Babcock’s 17,000 acres will permanently remain greenways and open space, Kitson added, while the city will also adjoin the 73,000-acre Babcock Ranch Preserve that has been purchased by the state.
Babcock will also feature sustainable water management and conservation technologies; street lamps designed to reduce light pollution; electric car chargers; and green roofs that reduce energy loss.
While environmentalists have generally welcomed the plan, some detractors have questioned whether the local area, which was shockingly overbuilt during the recent housing bubble, can sustain another city.
This story was featured on the Bussiness Green Website.
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