Street lights are one of things people in heavily populated areas tend to take for granted. They make walking and driving a safer, more pleasant experience, but they also account for a significant chunk of a city’s energy usage. Solar powered street lights offer a solution for places where electricity is at a premium, or locations that are off the grid completely and the Spirit Solar Powered Lighting Column is the first example we’ve seen which rolls the post and the panels together in a standalone design.

This is certainly not the first street light to be powered by solar panels, but unlike Sharp’s solar LED street light and Urban Green Energy’s solar lights, the Spirit design sees the solar panels and battery pack integrated into the post.

Kaal Masten, the studio responsible for the new LED street light, says it can function using 100-percent solar power, who means it does not need to be connected to the grid at all in order to function.

*Also see http://youtu.be/zgtoCEh1nho

Read more here http://www.gizmag.com/spirit-solar-powered-lighting-column/29387/