by Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist (read the original in Noozhawk by clicking here)
You’d think Babcock Ranch was in California, for all its green prowess. This community, a neighborhood of 2,000 homes in southwest Florida, describes itself as the “first solar-powered town” in the U.S.
That it can make this claim is thanks to Syd Kitson, a retired football player with the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. Kitson was the impetus and major sponsor behind the 92,000-acre town.
In 2015 the Ranch constructed a 700,000 panel solar array to generate 100% of the electrical needs of the community. Moreover, residential streets were designed to flood to keep homes above any street flooding.
Professional landscapers planted native landscaping with the express purpose of controlling storm water runoff. Power and internet lines were buried, safe from wind damage.
“We have proof of the case now because [the hurricane] came right over us,” resident Nancy Chorpenning told CNN soon after the storm passed. “We have water, electricity, internet — and we may be the only people in southwest Florida who are that fortunate. …
“I joked that we may be the only people in southwest Florida whose property value just increased.”
The small city supported refugees from hard-hit neighboring areas. Babcock Neighborhood School became an official state shelter. Emergency shelters are required to have generators, which Babcock Ranch lacks. Nevertheless, solar power provided what they needed.
Ironically, there are not yet such solar communities in California. “There is not a community solar market yet, but we’re about to experiment with it in a real way,” said CPUC Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves. She spoke in 2019 in an interview with GreenTech Media.
“Today, there are still virtually no up-and-running community solar projects within California’s investor-owned utility territories,” according to Kevin Stark, the GreenTech article’s writer.
The pandemic slowed or halted every area of commerce, including progress on climate change. But the California Public Utilities Commission recently approved a couple of programs that will encourage efficient solar powered communities.
One California program, the Community Solar Green Tariff, creates a structure for adding 41 megawatts of community solar. The tariff originates from a 2013 rate reform bill that mandates growth of the solar industry in communities suffering from air pollution and poverty.
The Community Solar Green Tariff allows for 20 percent savings for residents who live in these disadvantages areas if they participate in community solar. The projects must be located within a five-mile area of their home. In Santa Barbara, SCE’s Local Green Saver Program is the conduit for eligible communities.
Over the past decade, the Community Environmental Council (CEC) and other local environmental groups have spearheaded three Community Choice Energy Progams.
Central Coast Community Energy, Santa Barbara Clean Energy, and the Clean Power Alliance all work on making clean energy the norm. The Clean Energy program is coordinating multiple efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, including:
Providing carbon-free electricity for all residents, with some choosing all carbon-free electricity.
Focusing on energy efficiency to reduce the amount of fossil fuels like gas burned in homes and businesses.
Developing programs to encourage electric vehicles to replace gasoline ones for public and private markets.
Californians are fortunate to have more than our fair share of climate change champions. However, we require more resiliency against climate change’s ravages like fires and floods. Some would say that like Babcock Ranch, we need our own football champion. Maybe former LA Rams’ Ovie Mughelli?!
Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist
Karen Telleen-Lawton is an eco-writer, sharing information and insights about economics and ecology, finances and the environment. Having recently retired from financial planning and advising, she spends more time exploring the outdoors — and reading and writing about it. The opinions expressed are her own.