A Hands-On Solar Experience at Babcock Ranch’s FPL Eco-Discovery Center
Babcock Ranch is not just any community—it’s America’s First Solar-Powered Town. With a strong commitment to sustainability, resilience, and technological innovation, Babcock Ranch leads the way in creating a living environment that is both eco-friendly and future-forward. One of the most exciting attractions here is the Solar Ranch – an FPL Eco-Discovery Center, a place […]
Forbes: Hurricanes Helene and Milton Should Motivate Us to Bury Power Lines
Hurricanes Helene and Milton remind us of electricity infrastructure’s vulnerability to extreme weather events. However, at least one Florida community, Babcock Ranch, managed to avoid electricity shutoffs from downed power lines. A newspaper story reported that “All the structures at Babcock Ranch are built to withstand more than 150-mile-per-hour hurricane force winds, and its 150-megawatt […]
Babcock High students 3D print prosthetic limbs
FOX 4 Now visited Babcock High School to learn more about their Design Labs project to 3D print and assemble several parts needed to make prosthetic limbs for those in need. For a group of ninth and tenth graders at Babcock High School, the first day of school this year was like taking a first […]
Babcock Ranch featured in New York Times article on solar power
Not every energy-resilient community is classified as a microgrid. Babcock Ranch, a development about 15 miles northeast of Fort Myers, Fla., calls itself the nation’s first solar-powered town. Babcock Ranch has an 870-acre solar farm to power the community, including two solar array systems totaling 150 megawatts of capacity, a transmission substation (with another being […]
Babcock Ranch featured on Action News Jacksonville
Action News Jax Anchor Tenikka Hughes visited Babcock Ranch and spoke to Syd Kitson to learn how innovation here could help make homes safer when severe weather hits the Jacksonville area. WATCH THE FULL SEGMENT HERE.
FAQs: Buying a Home, Sustainability, Storm Safety, and Life at Babcock Ranch
From available homes to storm safety, we’re answering your most asked questions about life in Babcock Ranch. Homes, Builders and Community Fees How do I start the homebuying process? How many available homes do you have? One way to start your homebuying process is by visiting our Discovery Center, where our Town Ambassadors will answer […]
A Resilient Community Designed to Weather Any Storm
Rooted in the passionate belief that smart growth and sustainability work hand in hand, Babcock Ranch was designed as a new kind of hometown. From solar energy to alternative transportation to parks, trails and open green spaces serving as vibrant gathering spots, Babcock Ranch is an innovative, welcoming place for everyone. Since embracing its first […]
World’s First Solar-Powered Town Under Construction In Southwest Florida
Launch of Babcock Ranch signals rebound of real estate market Punta Gorda, Florida – Today, Kitson & Partners ushered in a new era of smart growth with the unveiling of Babcock Ranch, which – when completed – will be the most sustainable, most innovative and healthiest new town in the country. Located in southwest Florida, […]
Technology and Quality of Life
Human longevity presents one of the most compelling links between technology and quality of life. According to the Social Security Administration, life expectancy at birth in 1930 was 58 for men and 62 for women. Today, a man reaching age 65 can expect to live on average until age 84.3 and a woman to age […]
Join Us for Chevy Night: The Florida Debut of the Chevrolet Bolt
We’re very excited to announce that we’ll be hosting Chevy Night on July 21st. Local collectors and dealers will show off their classic Chevy cars to welcome the newest member of the Chevrolet family: the Bolt EV. Chevy Night will celebrate the Florida debut of the Bolt EV, named 2017 North American Car of the […]
Chevy Bolt EV rolls out in Florida with a road trip to Babcock Ranch
Cross-state test drive features overnight recharge in solar-powered town General Motors marked the Florida debut of the Bolt EV with a road trip from Miami to Southwest Florida on Friday, July 21st. Named 2017 North American Car of the Year, the Bolt EV boasts a 238-mile range on a single battery charge. The cross-state drive […]
Charlotte County community dubbed ‘City of the Future’
You’ll find solar trees throughout the heart of Babcock Ranch, and electric vehicle charging stations in every home. It’s out-of-the box ideas like these that are helping Babcock Ranch exceed the “city of the future’s” sustainable expectations. “We’ve accelerated past what even the original vision was,” said Babcock Ranch President Rick Severance. “I don’t think we’ve had […]
The Top Five Things to Know About Fiber Internet
From solar energy to transportation, Babcock Ranch is at the vanguard of cutting-edge technology. Earlier this year, we announced we were taking another bold technology step for the solar-powered community in Southwest Florida by unveiling a partnership with CenturyLink to deliver one of the fastest residential internet speeds in the U.S. CenturyLink’s data network will […]
The Benefits of Solar Power
There’s a reason Florida is called the Sunshine State. So, it’s no surprise that Florida Power & Light has embarked on an ambitious plan to build a network of solar plants across the state. In Southwest Florida, it has collaborated with developer Kitson & Partners to build the Babcock Ranch Energy Center. The Babcock Ranch […]
Weather warnings: Lightning protection in Babcock Ranch
The nation’s first solar-powered city, Babcock Ranch now has its own lightning-protection system by Thor Guard. The system, in use now at multiple NFL stadiums and college campuses, sounds an alarm when it detects lightning within 10 miles of the development and then sounds a different signal when the lightning moves beyond 10 miles away. To read […]
Babcock Ranch Featured on The Weather Channel
Syd Kitson, Chairman and CEO of Kitson & Partners, spoke to The Weather Channel about the effects of Hurricane Irma at Babcock Ranch. Listen to Syd as he talks about the history of Babcock Ranch, our solar fields, and the minimal impacts we felt from Hurricane Irma in September 2017. “The eye of the storm […]
Living Smart: Technology at Babcock Ranch
We’re building a sustainable city. To us, sustainability and technology go hand-in-hand. Using state-of-the-art technology and creating a living laboratory for new ideas, we want to turn Babcock Ranch into a sustainable city that many generations to come will call home. Technology at Babcock Ranch will include (but is certainly not limited to): Fiber internet […]
Announcing Battery Storage at the FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center
Babcock Ranch’s clean energy efforts were taken to the next level when FPL created the largest solar-plus-storage system operating in the U.S. today. Each of the ten large gray steel battery storage units at the FPL Babcock Ranch Solar Energy Center can store 1 megawatt of power and discharge for 4 hours. The adjacent 440 […]
Babcock Ranch, Lee Health leaders light it up with friendly power competition
Babcock Ranch Developer Syd Kitson, and Lee Health president and CEO Larry Antonucci, and their teams took part in a friendly competition at the ribbon cutting ceremony for Lee Health’s Healthy Life Center at Babcock Ranch. The facility has the first electricity-generating workout equipment in the US, and that’s just one of the elements that […]