Residents are starting to move in to Florida’s new solar-powered eco-city

The future is bright (and solar-powered) at Babcock Ranch, a new eco-city located in southwestern Florida just 13 miles from Fort Myers and three hours from Miami. The Miami Herald reports that Babcock Ranch’s first residents are moving in this week to the development, which is largely powered by what developer Developer Syd Kitson claims is the world’s biggest photovoltaic solar energy generation field.

Walkways and green space are built into the plans for Babcock Ranch, which is slated to encompass 19,500 homes, 6 million square feet of retail, and 50,000 inhabitants when it’s completely finished in 25 years. See renderings of Babcock Ranch here.

The development offered an interesting and apropos incentive in December: buyers of one housing model could pick a free Chevy electric car to park in the driveway of their new home. But Babcock Ranch will have self-driving electric buses too.

• This new Florida city will produce its own power and run self-driving buses [Miami Herald]
• A solar-powered eco-city for 50,000 breaking ground in Florida [Curbed]
• Babcock Ranch [Official Site]