SEPCOs Blog on Solar Lighting, Solar Power and All Things Green

With the rise in energy costs, street lighting can be difficult for many areas. Ginn sur Mer has taken steps to minimize energy costs and reduce energy consumption by installing decorative solar powered street light systems. Since the units are self-contained, installation is cheaper and easier than with standard electrical lights.

When a large industrial mining company had a need to provide lighting for key areas within their massive, constantly changing land mine facility, they turned to SEPCO to help design fully portable, off-grid solar power lighting solution. The street light systems needed to be moved as the terrain changed as well as provide efficient lighting for safety and security of workers of the mine. Since this cannot be done with traditional electric lights, solar street lighting systems were the best option for the mining company.

We will be moving to our new state-of-the-art facility to streamline manufacturing and expanding to meet the worldwide demand for high-quality, economical clean energy outdoor lighting solutions. The new building provides more space with the larger warehouse facility and additional offices for staff. It also is located in the heart of Stuart.

In the summer of 2007, the City of Tallahassee, FL contacted SEPCO regarding a lighting project for Jack McLean Park.  According to the city’s website: “The 52-acre Jack L. McLean, Jr. Park provides active and passive recreation facilities, including five covered picnic shelters with grills, two comfort stations, a playground, four basketball courts, two tennis courts, a 24-station fitness trail, two bike trails, and two sand volleyball courts. The park is named for former City Commissioner Jack L. McLean, Jr., who was the driving force behind the acquisition and development of the former Southside Park.”  The park also includes a 20,386 square foot recreation center and aquatics complex.

St. Lucia is an oval shaped island oriented North / South. The southwest is rugged, isolated, and characterized by the Piton Mountains. There is an isolated village known as Bouton that remains without power, but has a diesel generator which only operates from 6 pm to 11 pm. There are approximately 70 families in the Bouton area.

A recent project with a new customer was a great opportunity for SEPCO to introduce a new product.  The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) at the Tiber Reservoir in Billings, Montana, wanted to use solar power to light their recreational boat ramp.  Working with light fixture manufacturer Beacon Products, SEPCO designed a system using Beacon’s new ALPHA floodlight and SEPCO’s 125 Watt solar electric power assembly.

With hurricanes hitting Florida so often, ABC Domes created dome security storage and business continuity facilities that can withstand winds up to 300 mph. Since lighting is a large part of security, they used our solar parking lot lighting systems to provide outdoor lighting, even when there is no electric available due to down power lines.

In August of 2010, the Martin County Traffic Division contacted Solar Electric Power Company (SEPCO) requesting a solution for a particular lighting application.  In the recent past, the county had constructed a traffic circle on Salerno Road at the entrance to Indian River State College.  The Traffic Division was worried that the newly constructed traffic circle would present an unexpected obstacle for nighttime drivers.  There was virtually no lighting on the stretch of road involved; and there had never been any traffic lights, stop signs, or other traffic control devices present at that point on Salerno Road.  A nighttime driver, who had not recently been on the same road during the daytime, could easily be unaware and crash into the traffic circle.

A large commercial gas company cited the following lighting needs for a remote pump and monitoring station: dusk to dawn security lighting in addition to high intensity work lighting on a bi-monthly basis.  Due to the remote nature of the site, the cost to extend the electrical grid for AC powered lights was cost prohibitive. On the other hand, with off-grid solar lighting systems all costs and issues associated with AC power grid are completely eliminated because the lights do not rely on the AC power grid at all, but rather off-grid through the power of clean, renewable solar energy. What a perfect combination of remote security and solar power.

The installation of solar LED lighting is a major portion of a current Martin County project to resurface the road and improve the utilities around Airport Road in Stuart, FL.  Stuart based contractor Sunshine Land Design substantially completed the $1.6 million project, funded by grants from the Economic Development Administration and Florida Department of Transportation, on March 30.