United States: Indian reservation embraces solar lighting with Fonroche
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe benefits from Fonroche solar lighting
A symbolic location under development
The Cheyenne River Indian Reservation (CRIR) was created in 1889. It covers an area of 4,267 square miles in South Dakota, making it the fourth-largest Indian reservation in the United States. Its largest incorporated city is Eagle Butte. Today, the CRIR is home to 8,470 Sioux / Lakota people. Demand for electric lighting is growing, but grid cabling is difficult, due to the sheer size of the reservation. As the Eagle Butte community pursues its development strategy, it decided on a new public lighting system, running entirely on solar energy. And Fonroche Lighting, experts in off-grid solutions, was chosen to deliver the solution for the reservation.
High-performance solar road lighting
Fonroche has already delivered a string of successful projects in the United States and applied its extensive expertise as a lighting specialist for this major project. Previously poorly lit after nightfall, Eagle Butte city centre and the reservation’s access roads are now equipped with 80 off-grid solar streetlights from our Smartlight range. Quality of life has been transformed for local residents, with guaranteed lighting 365 nights a year, thanks to our unique battery system. The winter weather in South Dakota can be extreme, but the Fonroche Power365 battery system is designed to withstand even the harshest conditions, ensuring powerful, dependable year-round lighting. As well as improving road safety for the reservation, the choice of solar lighting reflects the community’s deep commitment to ecology. The Fonroche off-grid solar streetlights run entirely on solar energy and therefore have a zero carbon footprint and cause no damage to the environment!
