Silicon Valley billionaires secretly buy chunk of California to create sci-fi supercity with giant solar... - The US Sun
Silicon Valley billionaires secretly buy chunk of California to create sci-fi supercity with giant solar farm | The US Sun
Silicon Valley billionaires secretly buy chunk of California to create sci-fi supercity with giant solar farm
A GROUP of tech billionaires have plans to develop their own metropolis in California.
Through a company called Flannery Associates, the group has spent $800million buying thousands of acres of land just north of the San Francisco Bay Area over the last five years.
The idea is to create a type of futuristic supercity, where everything from design to construction could be developed from scratch.
Plans suggest that the new city could host tens of thousands of new homes.
There could also be a large solar energy farm and orchards with over a million new trees.
In total, the supercity hopes to have over 10,000 acres of new parks and open space.
The billionaires behind the concept include venture capitalists Michael Moritz and Marc Andreessen, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and internet entrepreneur Chris Dixon.
Moritz said in a 2017 pitch that this future city could generate thousands of jobs and be as walkable as the West Village in New York, per The New York Times.
In an effort to buy up the necessary land, Flannery has made offers to landowners for miles.
Though Moritz reportedly admitted that California's tricky zoning laws could "clearly be challenging" for the development of the metropolis.
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The Times reported that if the company hopes to be successful with the project, they will need to get Solano County residents' votes on it.
Likely Flannery will try to entice voters with the promise of jobs, increased tax revenue, and investments in infrastructure.
"If the plans materialize anywhere close to what is being contemplated, this should be a spectacular investment," Moritz wrote in a note.
In an email to investors, Moritz also suggested that this new investment could "relieve some of the Silicon Valley pressures we all feel — rising home prices, homelessness, congestion, etc."
Whether the plan moves forward remains to be seen, but should this city come to fruition it could serve as inspiration for other developments around the world.
Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.