By a 4-2 vote, Milton Town Council decided to move forward with a plan to put solar streetlights in the first four phases of the Granary at Draper Farm development.

With the approval, developer Convergence Investments, contractor EnGoPlanet and town administration will work out terms and conditions for the installation and maintenance of the solar lights. 

In a presentation to council Feb. 3, Convergence founder Colby Cox said, “This technology, I know it’s new to the Town of Milton, and quite frankly, it’s new to us. We think it's the best solution for this community and communities in the future. I think it's a positive step for the town. It’s safe. It’s effective. It’s functional.”

Before taking that step though, council members had questions about the placement, maintenance and costs of the poles. This would be the first use of solar streetlights in Delaware, so there was some nervousness about being the first to do this, but those who voted yes believed this was the future and it was important for the town to get in on the ground floor. All told, council members Randi Meredith, Scotty Edler, Fred Harvey and Vice Mayor Lee Revis-Plank voted in favor, while council members Tom Arkinson and Larry Savage voted no. Mayor John Collier abstained from voting.

Arkinson said the price of regular electric poles through Delaware Electric Co-Op were a little more than $2 per pole cheaper. He said equal to equal, the town would pay $2,000 more per year to go with solar compared to the co-op, and that the co-op would gradually transition to solar in the future.

“I question why we’re looking at these lights,” Arkinson said.

Chris Garza, vice president of business operations of EnGoPlanet, said at this point, it’s uncertain when and what the cost will be when the co-op converts to solar, and would not offer the same level of resiliency as solar poles with EnGoPlanet. 

Arkinson said he would feel more comfortable going with solar streetlights in a smaller setting.

Convergence announced in October that it was exploring having solar streetlights in the planned 1,350-unit development on Sand Hill Road, scheduled to be built out in 10 phases over 20 years. The streetlights would be provided and maintained by Houston, Texas-based EnGoPlanet, which has solar street poles in municipalities on the Texas coastline, as well as in Europe and the Middle East. 

Representatives from EnGoPlanet have said the poles are 20 feet tall, are made of high-strength structural steel and are galvanized with an industrial finish to prevent corrosion. The poles would be secured to a concrete footing. Each pole has a slim light, which has motion detection and can dim and brighten depending on how close objects are, and has six solar panels integrated into the pole. The poles would cost $25 per month per pole, although EnGoPlanet has presented some alternatives that are slightly less.

While the entire cost for the whole development is not yet known, Convergence officials have said for the first four phases of the planned 10-phase development, there would be about 170 poles. The Granary has broken ground and is conducting site work on Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the development. Convergence placed a sample pole and light on the property to show people what one would look like.