It’s a plan that has never been attempted before: a city built from scratch that is profitable to developers, enjoyable to residents and carbon-free. The city, called Peña Station Next, will be developed on a plot of land near Denver’s International airport at the last stop of a newly completed rail.

Inspired by a smaller-scale effort in a suburb of Tokyo, Peña Station Next aims to derive all its power from solar energy, a king-sized lithium-ion battery and other energy efficiency schemes. A variety of private and public entities – like Panasonic and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – are coming together to make such innovative development a reality. Ultimately, the project hopes to serve as a template for how different businesses can collaborate to build the next generation of sustainable cities.