Victoria company supplies solar-powered street lights to Washington State First Nation
Victoria’s Carmanah Technologies Corporation is responsible for new street lights for the Lummi Nation, a Coast Salish people in Washington State.
The street lights fit in with the Lummi Nation’s insistence on environmental sustainability. They are completely solar-powered, joining other green technologies such as geothermal heating and cooling, wind generation and (eventually) tidal generators.
The lights illuminate the Haxton Way Trail, a popular walking path that goes through the Lummi Reservation but also crosses through sensitive marsh wetlands. Establishing underground wiring in a traditional lighting scenario would have posed a potential threat to the delicate wetlands, so Carmanah’s EverGEN lights were attractive because they avoided the need to disturb the wetlands.
In addition to acknowledging these ground sensitivities, the new EverGEN systems will operate in accordance with International Dark Sky Association (IDA) guidelines, which recommend limiting light trespass or “sky glow” to help protect nocturnal ecosystems and nocturnal wildlife.
The results of the EverGEN systems lighting project will be reported to the National Indian Council and the two Government bodies responsible for project funding, the Federal Lands Highway Department and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board. The report will be used to evaluate the feasibility of launching similar projects with like technology for more Tribes.
For more information on Carmanah and their products, click here.
