Some new Savannah-area neighborhoods could soon be brightened by solar-powered streetlights

Some of coastal Georgia’s newest subdivisions could soon tap into the sun’s power to keep residents safe at night.

D.R. Horton , the nation’s largest homebuilder, has entered into an agreement with Florida company Streetleaf to supply solar streetlights in its communities.

The Arlington, Texas-based D.R. Horton has more than a dozen developments in the Savannah region and South Carolina Lowcountry.

“We would like to get lights in those areas,” Streetleaf CEO Liam Ryan told the Savannah Morning News. “We can deploy (our) systems anywhere. However, the Southeast and the Sun Belt states have more consistent sunlight.”

The company’s streetlights each have a solar panel and battery that can charge in a few hours and keep shining for three to five days of complete cloud cover.

“Even on overcast days, our solar panels are still absorbing sunlight – similar to how you can get sunburned even on cloudy days,” Ryan added.

That means the lights would continue to hold a charge even in the gloom of storms like Debby, which stalled over coastal Georgia and the South Carolina Lowcountry for days in early August as it dumped flood-producing rain.

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Off the grid

Streetleaf lights can take as little as 15 minutes to install because there’s no need to connect them to the electric grid, a luxury that gives developers flexibility to adjust streetlight locations and eliminates the need to extend and bury conduit.

The lights also will save residents money because homeowners' associations in D.R. Horton subdivisions are typically responsible for the cost of operating and maintaining streetlights.

The company says using 50 of its lights instead of the traditional alternative can save the same amount of electricity used in two typical U.S. homes in a year.

Collecting energy from the sun rather than through the traditional grid results in fewer heat-trapping emissions because more than half of Georgia’s power is still produced by burning natural gas and coal.

Using the sun as a guide also makes Streetleaf lights highly efficient.

“As soon as the panels stop charging, that's when the lights turn on,” Ryan explained. “The light needs to be on when it needs to be on. Every day, the timing is different for when it gets dark.”

D.R. Horton did not respond to questions about plans for the lights in Savannah-area communities but did provide a comment about the deal with Streetleaf.

“Sustainable infrastructure is highly attractive to homeowners, and the added peace of mind that comes with knowing the lights are designed to remain operational even during many extreme weather events like hurricanes is equally important,” said Brad Conlon, senior vice president of business development for D.R. Horton.

John Deem covers climate change and the environment in coastal Georgia. He can be reached at 912-652-0213 or jdeem@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Some new Savannah-area neighborhoods could soon be brightened by solar-powered streetlights