Babcock Ranch: How a Solar-Powered Town Withstood Hurricane Ian

Key Takeaways

• Babcock Ranch is the first fully solar-powered town in the U.S., located in hurricane-prone Florida and designed from the ground up for climate resiliency.
• Despite the devastation from Hurricane Ian, Babcock Ranch maintained power, clean water, and internet while nearby communities experienced widespread outages and damage.
• The town’s 650,000 solar panels and solar-plus-battery storage system kept energy flowing when 4 million others lost electricity.
• Infrastructure decisions—including underground power lines, flood-retaining ponds, and smart street design—were critical to minimizing damage.
• Babcock Ranch’s success is a real-world example of how renewable energy and smart planning can enhance disaster preparedness and community resilience.

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On September 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall on the Florida peninsula, hitting hard many communities as it tore through homes and businesses along the coast.

With the death toll climbing to more than 100 and insured losses estimated at $67 billion, Ian has become the deadliest and costliest hurricane in the state’s history. Days after the storm, hundreds of thousands remained without power, and roadways were still flooded.  

However, one community near the hard-hit area of Fort Myers endured Hurricane Ian with minimal damage and no loss of power. Babcock Ranch garnered media attention after it was left relatively unscathed by the category-4 storm.

Babcock Ranch, a planned community located in Charlotte and Lee Counties in Florida, prides itself as America’s first solar-powered town.  While Hurricane Ian knocked out power to about 4 million customers in Florida, including 90% of Charlotte County, the town survived the hurricane with its power on.

In an interview with CNN, 68-year-old resident Nancy Chorpenning said, “We have water, electricity, internet — and we may be the only people in Southwest Florida who are that fortunate.”

Renewable energy and sustainability are the cornerstone of Babcock Ranch’s way of life. In partnership with Florida Power & Light, Babcock Ranch houses the largest solar-plus-storage system operating in the U.S. today. It boasts of an “870-acre solar farm, to solar tree charging stations, to the country’s largest solar-plus-battery storage system.”

The town built to weather hurricanes gets its electricity from 650,000 solar panels. While the rest of the area lost power, the solar array kept the lights on for Babcock Ranch residents. Solar panels produce more power and energy than the town consumes. After Hurricane Ian, the town opened Babcock Neighborhood School as an official shelter and refuge for storm evacuees and some of the hardest-hit victims.

Babcock Ranch was built in 2015 on the principle that smart growth and preservation can work together. The town was designed with climate resiliency in mind in the event of a catastrophic weather event. Power lines are run underground to keep it safe from high winds, while giant retaining ponds around the community protect houses from flooding. In addition, the streets are designed to minimize flooding and keep it away from the houses.

As Hurricane Ian has shown, America’s power infrastructure is not well-equipped to handle worsening extreme weather conditions. Climate change will only make extreme weather more likely and more intense. These catastrophic weather events can shut down power, cost lives, and result in tremendous economic loss.

The big question now is: how can we prepare for something we’ve never experienced before?

Not all communities can be designed like Babcock Ranch. However, government officials and community leaders need to find solutions that can help their communities to prepare for disasters.  

Emergency preparedness can be a life-or-death matter: it can save countless lives, speed up people's recovery and save money. There’s no benefit in ignoring risks and hoping you can figure things out after disaster strikes. But there are plenty of benefits to emergency preparedness.

As Sesame Solar’s Co-Founder and CEO Lauren Flanagan said, “While we can’t stop hurricanes or wildfires from happening, we can create solutions that help communities recover efficiently without causing further damage to the environment.”

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FAQs

1. How did Babcock Ranch keep the power on during Hurricane Ian while millions in Florida lost electricity?

Babcock Ranch maintained uninterrupted power during Hurricane Ian due to its unique reliance on solar energy paired with battery storage. The town is powered by a massive 870-acre solar farm featuring approximately 650,000 solar panels. It also incorporates one of the largest solar-plus-storage systems in the U.S., built in partnership with Florida Power & Light. Unlike traditional grid infrastructure, which is vulnerable to downed power lines and central outages, Babcock Ranch’s electricity system is resilient by design. Underground power lines protect against wind damage, and battery storage ensures continuous power during storms and at night. This combination allowed the town to stay fully functional even as nearly 90% of surrounding Charlotte County lost power.

2. What specific infrastructure features helped Babcock Ranch withstand the hurricane with minimal damage?

Several intentional infrastructure choices made Babcock Ranch more hurricane-resilient than neighboring communities. The town’s streets are engineered to channel water away from homes, significantly reducing flood risk. Large retention ponds surrounding the area act as buffers during periods of heavy rain. One of the most impactful features is the underground power grid, which safeguards electrical lines from high winds. Buildings and public structures, like the Babcock Neighborhood School, are constructed to shelter residents during emergencies. Together, these elements demonstrate that resilient urban planning—especially when combined with renewable energy—can protect lives and property in the face of extreme weather.

3. Can other communities replicate the Babcock Ranch model for disaster preparedness?

While not every community has the ability to start from scratch like Babcock Ranch, many of its core strategies can be adapted elsewhere. Cities and towns can begin by investing in solar-plus-storage systems and burying power lines in high-risk areas to reduce outages during storms. Enhancing flood defenses, improving emergency shelters, and promoting decentralized energy sources such as microgrids and nanogrids are all scalable tactics. Programs like those offered by Sesame Solar, which deploy renewable mobile nanogrids, can also bring resilient, clean power to communities without large infrastructure overhauls. The key takeaway is that proactive planning, not just disaster recovery, must guide policy decisions.

4. What does Babcock Ranch reveal about the future of renewable energy in disaster response?

Babcock Ranch proves that renewable energy is not only a sustainable solution for everyday life but also a strategic advantage in emergencies. The town's success during Hurricane Ian dispels the myth that clean energy is unreliable under stress. In fact, when combined with battery storage and modern infrastructure, solar energy can outperform traditional fossil-fuel grids, which are often brittle during natural disasters. This model offers a roadmap for other municipalities: investing in resilient, clean energy systems can both reduce emissions and save lives. As climate-related disasters become more frequent, renewable energy will increasingly be recognized as a core component of public safety.

5. How can state and local governments better prepare for future extreme weather events?

Governments can strengthen community resilience by integrating renewable energy into their disaster preparedness strategies. This includes incentivizing solar installations with battery storage for homes, critical facilities, and emergency shelters. Updating building codes to require flood-resistant construction and burying power lines in high-risk areas can significantly reduce future damage. Public-private partnerships—like the one between Babcock Ranch and Florida Power & Light—can fund large-scale infrastructure upgrades. Mobile solutions like Sesame Solar’s nanogrids offer immediate support after disasters strike, especially in remote or underserved areas. Most importantly, leaders must move from reactive recovery models to proactive planning that considers long-term climate risks.

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To learn more about Sesame Solar’s emergency response solutions, contact our Sales Department at sales@sesame.solar.

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