Educational 3 September 2025
When Sol started out back in 1990, solar lighting was a bold idea. It was clean, forward-looking, and full of promise—but it wasn’t… cheap. Back then, solar was still considered a premium product, best suited for projects with generous budgets or strong environmental mandates.
A lot has changed since then. Over the past three decades, we’ve watched solar evolve from niche to mainstream. The technology has become more efficient, the incentives more generous, and the overall costs have dropped—dramatically. Meanwhile, traditional lighting has only gotten more expensive, with components, electricity rates, and maintenance costs all trending upward.
All of this has reshaped the economics of solar lighting, making it not just a sustainable choice, but a practical one for more projects than ever before.
Solar panels now cost a fraction of what they did in the early 2000s. Globally, prices have fallen roughly 12% per year, driven by gains in panel efficiency and the scaling of global production. Batteries have followed a similar path. Between 2023 and 2024, lithium battery costs dropped 20%, thanks to improvements in energy density, a shift toward more affordable chemistries, and economies of scale.
These changes have had a ripple effect on system design. With more power in smaller packages, today’s solar lighting systems can be lighter and more compact— no longer requiring the ultra-durable (and ultra-expensive) poles and foundations they once did. Our newest system, the EverGen 3, was built to take full advantage of these improvements, delivering reliable performance in a leaner, faster-to-deploy system.
On top of falling equipment costs, federal incentives are driving solar lighting prices even lower—at least for now. The Investment Tax Credit (ITC) currently covers 30% of project costs, with additional bonuses available for projects in low-income areas and energy-transition communities. Other funding sources, like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, offer more opportunities to offset costs.
Unfortunately, these programs aren’t permanent. Many are tied to current federal policy and will begin phasing out in the next few years. For now, incentives are helping bring the cost of solar lighting to historic lows—but the window won’t stay open forever.
While the falling costs and incentives are nice, it’s worth remembering that solar lighting has always had an edge when it comes to cost. Unlike grid-tied systems, solar requires no trenching, underground wiring, or utility hookup. That means projects avoid the time-consuming and expensive process of tearing up pavement or landscaping, making installation fast, straightforward, and affordable.
Then there are the ongoing operational savings. It’s obvious, but we’ll say it anyway: solar lights are free to power. While electricity rates continue to climb year after year, solar lighting costs stay flat—at zero. For cities and facility managers dealing with tight budgets, this predictability is invaluable.
Finally, today’s solar lighting systems are built to last. With durable components, smart energy management, and high-density batteries, solar lights deliver reliable service with minimal maintenance. That killer combination of low upfront disruption, no recurring power costs, and extended service life has always made solar a smart, economical choice.
Solar lighting’s value proposition has never been stronger. Equipment costs are down, incentives are up, and the inherent efficiencies of solar remain. For communities and organizations looking to stretch their budgets while building for the future, solar is the obvious choice.
Have a project or just want to pick our brains about solar? Our team is standing by.
