Milton Town Council tabled an ongoing discussion of having solar streetlights within the Granary at Draper Farm development as council continues researching whether the idea is doable.

Council plans to resume discussions at its Monday, Jan. 6 meeting.

Developer Convergence Investments announced in October that it was exploring having solar streetlights in the 1,350-unit development. The streetlights would be provided and maintained by Houston, Texas-based company 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 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 already broken ground on Phase 1 of the development and has received preliminary site-plan approval for Phase 2. 

After first being presented to the town council Oct. 7, council asked the planning and zoning commission for a recommendation. At its Oct. 15 meeting, the commission recommended approval of the plan with conditions, including a photometric plan comparing the conventional streetlight plan of Phase 1 to the solar streetlight plan in Phase 1 and contact with officials in Calhoun County, Texas, where EnGoPlanet has set up similar solar streetlights so the town can inquire about their experience with the technology.

At council’s Dec. 2 meeting, council raised questions regarding the term and maintenance of the lights. Chris Garza, vice president of business operations of EnGoPlanet, said the poles would be on a pay-as-you-go basis over 15 years, but the contract with the town could be worded so the term for poles in each phase of the Granary would start once that phase comes online. Garza said at the end of the term, the town and EnGoPlanet could either work out an extension or the town could assume maintenance responsibility for the poles. 

Councilman Scotty Edler asked Garza what would happen in the event the poles are knocked down as a result of a weather disaster, such as a hurricane. Edler said companies such as Delmarva Power and Delaware Electric Co-Op are already local and could fix poles within hours or a few days. Garza said EnGoPlanet would have a local partner and could respond to an emergency as quickly as possible. Garza said the company has backup equipment in Houston that could be shipped up and local partners will have some small, excess inventory on hand. He added that unlike the other companies, which would be responsible for a whole grid in an emergency, EnGoPlanet would be only responsible for one development.

Mayor John Collier expressed concerns that the batteries for the lights are lithium batteries, the material of which is made overseas and could be subject to tariffs by the incoming Trump Administration. Collier wondered what such tariffs would do to the price of the lights. Garza said while tariffs are a concern, the supply chain for lithium batteries is pretty solid. 

Vice Mayor Lee Revis-Plank said while she was in favor of solar, she was concerned about the fact that there is no backup should EnGoPlanet go out of business.

“It’s not tied into an electrical service provider,” she said. “I’m just really uncomfortable that there is no backup. They’re a young company that I don’t know.”

Garza said the most likely solution in that event would be to turn the poles over to another solar provider. 

Collier echoed Revis-Plank’s thoughts of not being comfortable quite yet with moving forward and wanted more time to gather information.