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This Could Become America's Most Eco-Friendly Town

The Sunshine State is really living up to its name!
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By 

Intern, HuffPost Video

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Developers in Florida are building a solar-powered town that would be one of America’s newest sustainable cities, and it could be complete by 2017.

They’re building an eco-centric “town in the making” on 17,000 acres in southwest Florida. Babcock Ranch will feature homes, a downtown center and more. A 75-megawatt solar power plant nearby would fuel the energy.

Kitson & Partners, the development firm behind the town, is hoping Babcock Ranch will become America’s most sustainable city. “Babcock Ranch will exemplify what it means to be a town of the future, offering residents a highly unique balance of the most technologically advanced infrastructure and amenities, with ready access to a rich natural environment and a true sense of community,” said Syd Kitson, the firm’s chairman and chief executive, in a press release.

Babcock Ranch is just one example of how we need to continue to prioritize more sustainable investments. “This is a microcosm of what needs to happen on a large scale,” HuffPost senior business editor Alexander Kaufman noted. “So while this might be one small development, this is the way that we’re going to have to live if were going to survive as a species.”

This video was produced by Annie Thomas. 

Before You Go

The Five Largest Solar Power Plants In The U.S.
The Solar Star Projects -- Antelope Valley, California(01 of05)
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This 579-megawatt facility is the world's largest photovoltaic power plant and generates enough electricity to power approximately 255,000 homes. (credit:Courtesy of SunPower)
Topaz Solar Farm -- San Luis Obispo County, California(02 of05)
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The 550-megawatt facility, as pictured from space, produces enough electricity to power about 180,000 homes. (credit:NASA Earth Observatory/Flickr)
Desert Sunlight Solar Farm -- Desert Center, California(03 of05)
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Photo-voltaic solar cells sit in the sun at the 550-megawatt Desert Sunlight Solar Farm during a dedication ceremony for the facility on Feb. 9 in Desert Center, California. (credit:Marcus Yam via Getty Images)
Copper Mountain Solar Complex -- Boulder City, Nevada(04 of05)
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President Barack Obama smiles while speaking at Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's Copper Mountain Solar 1 facility in 2012. The Copper Mountain photovoltaic complex collectively generates 458 megawatts, enough energy to power approximately 142,000 homes. (credit:Ethan Miller via Getty Images)
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System -- Mojave Desert, California(05 of05)
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Two of the three units at the 392-megawatt Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System are seen operating in the Mojave Desert in California near Primm, Nevada. The largest solar thermal power-tower system in the world, it uses 347,000 computer-controlled mirrors to focus sunlight onto boilers on top of three 459-foot towers, where water is heated to produce steam to power turbines providing power to more than 140,000 California homes. (credit:Ethan Miller via Getty Images)
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