City installs new solar street lights

SOLAR-POWERED street lights are being trialled in Edinburgh in a move designed to help the environment, lower costs and improve security in secluded spots.

The new electricity-free lights could be rolled out across the Capital in areas where it has proved difficult to attach a power source, such as country lanes or remote bus stops.

Edinburgh is only the second place in the UK to purchase the new lights, which store energy from the sun throughout the day, automatically turning on at dusk and switching off again at dawn.

The latest move follows the on-going roll-out of solar-powered bus shelters - which are lit up using similar technology - with more than 100 now in place around the city.

Two of the lights were yesterday installed close to Edinburgh Airport for trial purposes.

They have cost the council 5000, but although this is more expensive than ordinary street lighting, it will prove cheaper in the long-run than laying electricity cables.

The lights are positioned close to the airport slip road from the A8, where services such as the Lothian Buses X48 heads out of town to Ratho, and First buses stop on the way to West Lothian. The bus shelter is mainly used by airport workers.

Councillor Andrew Burns, the city's transport leader, said: "We want more people to use buses and to ensure people feel comfortable using public transport after dark, so it is vital that we make sure the route to bus stops are as safe as possible.

"Often stops are in areas where it's difficult to have a mains power supply for lighting, and this is particularly the case in rural west Edinburgh.

"Solar power offers a viable alternative to mains and can make travellers feel less vulnerable at night by illuminating their path to their stop.

"Lighting bus shelters by solar power has already been successful, with more than 100 city bus stops benefiting from the new technology.

"If the trial is successful, the council hopes to install further solar units along bus routes where lighting has been problematic."

The technology was designed by The Zeta Group, which recently launched the "sunFLOWER" lights in Exmoor National Park.

Operations director Phil Quartly said today: "We are proud to be working with Edinburgh City Council on sustainable energy solutions, such as solar-lit bus shelters, bus stops and path lighting.

"The solar-powered sunFLOWER path light has been designed to operate in areas where mains lighting is unavailable or difficult to connect to.

"In this case the mains lighting grid is at capacity, so no further street lamps may be added.

"Because it proved to be a problem area for lighting, the solar lights have been installed on an access stairway that is used by airport staff using public transport."

Not all of Edinburgh's street lights will be powered by the sun in the future - as it would prove too expensive to replace existing lights and unhook the electricity supply - but the council hopes to expand its use of the technology in dimly-lit areas.

These will include paths to bus stops or country lanes.