A new light dawns

Solar street lights surveyed at Sullivan sites

By SANDY LONG

SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Three locations in Sullivan County are brightening the outdoor lighting environment of the future, in terms of solar energy solutions aimed at improving sustainability. Solar street lights were installed last fall and are currently being studied by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s (RPI) Lighting Research Center (LRC) for their performance in different settings in Woodridge, Swan Lake and Bethel. The study will provide data for other municipalities that may be considering solar lighting for their communities.

The Woodridge site features 12 stand-alone solar lights installed as Main Street lighting in a two-year study conducted by Sullivan Renaissance, a community beautification and development program funded by the Gerry Foundation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), which provides energy-related technical and financial assistance to residents, businesses and institutions to promote energy efficiency and economic development in New York State. It also cost-shares new product development and demonstration projects with New York manufacturers to help commercialize innovative, energy-efficient products and systems.

The LRC has been collecting data and conducting independent research to measure the new technology’s effectiveness, and to determine what residents think about the lights, which operate completely off the grid, and can continue providing light during a power outrage.

“We’re asking questions like, ‘Can you recognize colors and faces?’ or ‘Can you spot a quarter on the ground?’” said Colleen Emery, project manager of the solar renaissance lamp post demonstration project.

Along with others, Emery collaborated with Denise Frangipani, who coordinates the Sullivan Renaissance Youth Program. Frangipane saw the project as a chance for students to access potential career opportunities and gain knowledge about cutting-edge and sustainable technology options. Students from Monticello, Liberty and Fallsburg high schools were given tours of the LRC and its various projects focused on LEDs and the effects of light on human health and biology by Dan Frering, head of the graduate program in lighting.

A working lunch at the state capitol with Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther, Paul Tonko, president of NYSERDA and Ann Reynolds, policy director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation followed. Tonko explained the necessity of alternative forms of energy and the state’s role in testing new technology.

Monticello High School student Bryan Fuller participated in the project and shared his experience with fellow students. Fuller will receive a full scholarship to RPI. His teacher, Wendy Levinson, Director of Monticello’s Academy of Finance, said that students had the opportunity to work with the researchers, for example, measuring how far the light projected onto the street in Woodridge. Levinson noted the valuable learning experience provided to her students in seeing scientists, funders, a foundation, teachers and community volunteers work together toward sustainable solutions for Sullivan County, while learning about marketing, conducting research and the value of good communication skills.

Designing for the future

Hadco Lighting of Littlestown, PA and SolarOne Solutions of Framingham, MA partnered in developing the post-top style fixtures, inspired in part by a design request. “At a Sullivan Renaissance meeting, Sandra Gerry posed a challenge that would prove to be the motivation for this design,” said Moneer Azzam, president of SolarOne Solutions. “She asked if there was a way to make the lighting system have a period look to it, while at the same time finding a way to integrate the solar panels.” The panels present an aesthetic challenge to designers due to the need for increased panel size in less sunny climates.

The lights’ design resulted from a collaboration between Gerry’s vision to make clean technology look more beautiful and familiar, combined with Hadco lighting’s period design and craftsmanship and SolarOne’s highly efficient So-Bright ™ Solar/LED control technology, which permitted the development of panels similar in size to the types of banners often displayed on traditional street lamps.

“It’s an exciting time for lighting,” said Emery. “The industry is undergoing rapid change with the advent of white LED lighting, dark-sky mandates and soaring energy costs. The fixtures are dark-sky compliant, allowing night time star gazing. Each lamp will offset an estimated 4,000 pounds of green house gases annually, while providing the peace of mind that it will be operational, even during emergencies when the grid may be down.”

Emery described the blue-white spectrum of the lamps’ LED bulbs as similar to that of a bright full moon, noting that the quality of the light is very different from the “glare bombs” that people are accustomed to. The surveys will help to determine the level of public acceptance. Emery hopes that the solar-lighting project helps to fortify other “green” efforts taking place in Sullivan County. “It enhances the message that we are passionate about our surroundings, concerned with conservation and are environmentally-minded,” she said.

According to Frering, the project will conclude in January 2008 and a comprehensive report assessing the lighting’s effectiveness, energy savings, cost comparisons to install, shortcomings and benefits will be made available soon thereafter. “Renewable energy doesn’t pollute, and often, costs are limited to the original installation,” noted Frering.

The LRC will return in fall and winter to analyze data representing all four seasons. Additional data was gathered in Swan Lake on July 1 and will be collected at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on July 11. The public is welcome to observe data collection or participate in the surveys beginning at 7:00 p.m. and continuing until dark.

For more information visit www.sullivanrenaissance.org or call Emery at 845/295-2719.