US success for Aussie solar lighting developer

Melbourne-based solar lighting developer Leadsun is set to deliver more than 10,000 lights into solar projects for cities across the USA over the next few years. Devised under its SMART (sustainable, modern, adaptable, robust, technology) methodology, the Leadsun offering was selected after a two-year, worldwide search for the best solar lighting technology available.

The company’s Matt Pollard said developer Metro Development Group wanted an off-the-grid lighting solution for its Epperson masterplanned community located in Tampa, Florida, a location that posed challenges for the fittings.

“Because it was in Florida, we had to make sure they were engineered and robust enough to withstand their hurricane season where wind speeds can reach up to 150 mph,” Pollard said.

Leadsun’s development team in Melbourne was the first in the world to design and patent an all-in-one SMART solar light that combines LED, lithium batteries and wireless technology, enabling the lights to store power for days on end and also be remotely controlled and monitored from anywhere in the world.

Metro Development Group Vice President of Operations Kartik Goyani said, “We wanted to make sure that in such a unique and technology-advanced community, streetlights were not just conventional, old ones connected to the grid.

“You know we call these the ‘green lighting machine’, so the green aspects — the solar, being off the grid, and the ability for us to connect and control these remotely pretty much from anywhere in the country — is something that is groundbreaking and I don’t think any other manufacturer offers that,” he said.

Leadsun has worked with councils and organisations around the country to deliver public lighting projects for the past 15 years — including Australia’s longest solar-lit pathway in Goulburn, NSW — and providing public lighting around Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open.

“The lighting is more cost-effective and it helps improve community access to public areas and security. Now with Florida we’re seeing solar lights are the future for masterplanned communities as well,” Pollard said.

“We can dim these at 11 pm and then brighten them at 5 am or when the motion sensor picks up anyone walking by,” Goyani said.

“I would say not only Australian developers but everyone throughout the world should be looking at these. This is what our planet needs and it’s phenomenal technology.”