Case study 1 March 2023
King City, California was looking for a new streetlight system on Jayne Street in order to provide much-needed light and improve public safety in the area. Sol came up with a solution that included eight new solar streetlights.
Location: King City – Jayne St California
Client: King City Community Power
Local partner: SCL North in northern California
Products used: EverGen – M — 2P3B Color: 4000K
A new solar streetlight system has been installed along Jayne Street in King City, providing much-needed light and improving public safety.
In 2018, King City, CA began a multiphase program to improve street lighting throughout the city. King City Community Power, the organization funding the program, was formed to keep top priorities like public safety in mind for the community.
The need for lighting Jayne Street was initially identified through a civic engagement program run by the Monterey County Health Department, in which they determined that more lighting needed to be built into the local infrastructure plan. A survey of residents as well as staff from the preschool and Migrant Center on Jayne Street revealed that many felt unsafe walking to their cars and public transit because of the inadequate lighting.
The goal was to light the entire length of the street with full brightness. The street is located on the outer edge of King City and is close to a train station and other forms of public transit. The location needed good illumination from evening to morning, so an all-night lighting solution was required.
Weighing the benefits and costs of different lighting solutions, King City Community Power recognized that solar streetlights would be an ideal solution for the project. Not only are solar streetlights quicker and easier to install than grid street lighting, but they also produce lower carbon emissions and are less expensive to operate in the long term. In addition, the location is free of tall overhead trees that might block sunlight, so solar streetlights along Jayne Street would be able to charge efficiently during daylight hours.
Sol was selected for this project because of their proven track record of successful installations, their experience with and ability to furnish the proper size units, and their superior charging systems that provide high-quality, dusk-to-dawn lighting.
To meet the requested lighting requirements, Sol supplied a solution consisting of eight EverGEN-M units. Each unit has two solar panels, three batteries, and the Holophane Cobra Head Fixture. The EverGEN-M units are installed on steel direct-burial poles and provide dusk-to-dawn illumination. Each unit is also equipped with Insight Satellite Monitoring so all components’ operations can be viewed remotely. The units were backed by Sol’s industry-leading 10-year warranty.
King City completed the project in September 2022 and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Migrant Center to celebrate the community’s new solar streetlights. Residents shared positive feedback about the project, including the greater sense of safety and security they felt with the improved lighting. Parents who drop their children off for daycare in the early hours of the morning were especially appreciative of the new lighting. The city was pleased that the lighting system was easy to install and did not require the involvement of the local utility, PG&E.
Based on these positive outcomes, King City Community Power is looking forward to expanding the solar lighting program and adding more EverGEN-M units at other locations in the future.
