How Babcock Ranch Stayed Lit Through Hurricane Ian: Without Trenching a Single Wire
A decade in, Babcock Ranch, Florida, shows that solar infrastructure works at scale. The town has lived through three hurricanes to prove it. FLT solar pathway and parking lighting, installed by the community's national homebuilding partners, are part of the resilient infrastructure that held up through all three.
Overview
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PLB
This self-contained solar-powered bollard keeps pathways, parks, and parking lots bright with an evenly cast light to increase visibility and promote safety.
RSL
This flexible and self-contained solar light shines brightly over parking lots and pathways to promote maximum visibility for pedestrians and drivers alike.
Solar Lighting From Day One
Kitson & Partners preserved roughly 70,000 of the company's original 90,000 acres as permanent conservation land. The rest became the site for founder Sid Kitson's vision: a town built around solar power from the start, not retrofitted later.
The vision that runs through the community’s power distribution, its utilities, and its solar pathway and parking lot lighting, which lets residents use 100+ miles of trails after dark, safely enjoying the extraordinary community they call home.
“Solar wasn’t something that was added later. It was always part of the original vision, a town where sustainability was built into the infrastructure from the beginning.”
Hurricane Ian: When the Grid Went Dark, Babcock Ranch Didn’t
In 2022, Hurricane Ian sat over Babcock Ranch for more than 12 hours with sustained winds exceeding 100 mph.
FLT’s solar pathway and parking lot lighting never went dark either, and the town has since seen a steady influx of new residents drawn specifically by that track record.
- Babcock Ranch never lost power, internet, or any other utility throughout the storm.
- It was one of the only areas in Southwest Florida left with power. The community’s own Publix grocery store was reportedly the only one open in the region.
- Norton, who had experienced significant storm damage to his own home in the past, described the aftermath candidly: Babcock Ranch came through Ian largely untouched, a few downed trees, some minor landscaping damage, while surrounding communities faced major destruction. He said it brought him "a little bit of survivor's guilt.”
“We never lost power. We never lost internet. We never lost any of our utilities. It really showed the value of investing in that resilient infrastructure. Our residents saw that firsthand.”
Why FLT Solar Lighting Fit
Kitson & Partners holds every product to the same bar: things that look great, last and are genuinely low-cost to maintain. FLT’s solar pathway and parking lot lighting, both self-contained, with no trenching and no grid connection, met the standard.
Babcock Ranch is entitled for ~22,500 homes and ~65,000 residents at full build-out, larger than the city of Naples, Florida, with more neighborhoods and more solar lighting still to come.
FLT's solar lighting was designed with that long-term value in mind: low maintenance, built to last, and proven right alongside Babcock Ranch's solar st
“Honestly, it’s probably the best compliment that you don’t hear much about it — because it just works. People feel safe walking at night and enjoying the different trails throughout the community.”
“Do it. Don’t focus on the upfront costs — look at the bigger picture. Look at the maintenance, the resiliency, and ultimately the resident experience. That’s what creates your long-term value.”
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Talk to usFrequently asked questions
At Babcock Ranch, FLT's RSL and PLB solar lighting stayed on through Hurricane Ian's sustained 100+ mph winds, and through two additional storms since. Both products are self-contained, with the solar panel, battery, and LED built into one unit and no wired connection to the grid, so there's no exposed wiring or grid dependency for a storm to take out.
The RSL and PLB fixtures used at Babcock Ranch are self-contained and don't require trenching or a grid connection, so they install in less than 30 minutes per fixture rather than requiring the electrical work a wired system would need. This matters most at scale: across multiple neighborhoods and phases, it removes an entire category of scheduling risk tied to electrical permitting and trenching crews.
Upfront, wired fixtures are sometimes cheaper unit-for-unit. But once trenching, wiring, permitting, and ongoing electrical maintenance are factored in, self-contained solar lighting like RSL and PLB generally wins on total lifecycle cost, which is why FLT recommends developers evaluate installed and maintained cost rather than fixture price alone.
Yes. Because RSL and PLB are self-contained, adding lighting to new neighborhoods doesn't require extending grid infrastructure. Babcock Ranch is still expanding toward its full entitlement of ~22,500 homes, and additional FLT lighting is part of that ongoing build-out.
PLB for pathway lighting and RSL for parking lot lighting.
Yes, residents at Babcock Ranch use 100+ miles of trails after dark on FLT lighting. As Keith Norton, Kitson & Partners, put it: "It's probably the best compliment that you don't hear much about it, because it just works."
Yes, FLT's catalog includes both self-contained products (like RSL and PLB, where the panel, battery, and LED are integrated into one unit) and distributed products, where components aren't all-in-one. RSL and PLB, the products installed at Babcock Ranch, are both self-contained.