A first in the Middle East: 20 km of highway with all-solar lighting

Kuwait’s main radio transmitter facility made safer with Fonroche solar lighting

It’s the largest solar road lighting project ever undertaken in the Middle East

After providing lighting for Kuwait International Airport, France-based company Fonroche Lighting has won a second major solar lighting contract in Kuwait. Situated in the Persian Gulf, Kuwait is one of the hottest and driest countries in the world. And because of its extreme climate, any outdoor infrastructure must be manufactured to the highest standards of quality and durability.

A demanding project in an extreme climate

Between now and year’s end, Fonroche Lighting will install solar streetlights along a 20 km section of highway in the desert. The road, located to the south of Kuwait City, the country’s capital, will be equipped with around 1,000 Smartlight off-grid streetlights, designed for public lighting applications and manufactured in France. This project has the particular feature of being at the hottest point on the surface of the globe, where the average temperature is almost 47°C and reaches 65 to 68°C in the summer. The seven-meter-wide roadway leads to the Al Kabd radio transmitter station. Al Kabd is Kuwait’s main radio transmission facility and is used to broadcast all audio information within the country and to outside audiences. For this reason, it’s a sensitive site and is placed under high security by the Ministry of Information. The solar poles, measuring seven meters high, will allow surveillance and improve security at the site and must provide constant illumination for 10 to 14 hours every night of the year. The amount of illumination required will be calculated in accordance with the American IESNA RP-8-00 roadway lighting standard.

Proven technology

[caption id="attachment_954" align="alignright" width="300"] Kuwait International Airport[/caption] The Ministry of Information’s decision follows the success of the solar lighting project at Kuwait International Airport more than four years ago, where Fonroche technology is continuing to prove highly effective and resistant to heat and pollution. Fonroche is the only technology guaranteeing 365 nights of lighting a year, thanks in particular to its NiMH battery system, designed to withstand extreme temperatures, from –40 to +70°C. The mechanical parts used in the Smartlight off-grid streetlight range are galvanized to more than 100 µm, making them highly resistant to the corrosive climate of coastal regions, coupled with an electronic system specially designed for humid and tropical environments. Renowned for the illumination power and robust durability of its solutions, Fonroche Lighting has further consolidated its European leadership in the solar public lighting market with this large-scale roadway project in the Middle East.