I happened to stumble upon this article and gave it a quick look over. At first glance, it sounds great.
http://www.technologyreview.com/Energy/20740/
However, towards the bottom of the article I read this
“Water use will be kept to a minimum–which will reduce energy needed for desalination. And sensors throughout the city will also keep residents informed of their energy use–and when they’re going to have to pay extra for using too much. All told, the city’s designers predict that efficiency improvements will result in a 75 percent reduction in energy consumption compared with a conventional city of the same size. The energy that is used will come almost entirely from solar–with wind and power from technology that converts garbage into fuel contributing smaller amounts.”
Hmmmm………..