CORTEZ, Fla. – The 86 homes built or planned for Hunters Point, located in Cortez, have no electricity expenses, with 14 solar panels and a 12-kilowatt-hour home battery in the utility closet of each home.

Homeowners in the community say the solar panels produce enough electricity to power their homes and charge their batteries, and the rest is sold to the power grid. The U.S. Green Building Council says the residential development is the first in the world to receive LEED Zero Energy certification because the community produces more electricity than it consumes.

Homes in Hunters Point also maintained their power during Hurricane Ian when other Florida homes lost power. The homes also are in a low, canal-lined peninsula jutting out into Sarasota Bay and protected from the storm-surge-prone Gulf of Mexico by a narrow barrier island less than 1,000 feet wide at its nearest point.

Florida-based developer Pearl Homes also thought ahead about resilience, elevating the community’s streets 3.5 feet above the existing ground level and creating a low-lying central park that allows water to drain off the road. Each home is built atop a first-floor garage, so all the rooms are at least 17 feet above sea level. The walls are also designed to withstand 150-mile-per-hour winds.

Source: Washington Post (1/6/2024) Nicolás Rivero

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