The West Colfax, CO Business Improvement District recently installed eleven SEPCO Promenade Series solar power lighting systems to illuminate walkways throughout its downtown district. Beyond sustainability benefits, West Colfax was able to save a considerable amount of money in the sense that the off-grid solar lights did not require West Colfax to incur the additional expense of tearing up streets and sidewalks as the means to extend the AC-power grid to the solar lights.
Better yet, the decorative design of the solar lights added aesthetic appeal to the overall project. For these reasons and more, the installation of eleven SEPCO solar lighting systems played an instrumental role in helping West Colfax Business Improvement District win the Governor’s Award for Best Sustainable Downtown Project—the details for which are outlined below.
The West Colfax Business Improvement District (BID) has won the 2011 Governor's Award for Downtown Excellence for Best Sustainable Downtown Project in Colorado. This award went to the BID for its work in creating "Denver's Sustainable Main Street" through infrastructure improvements making West Colfax more walkable and successful in promoting green technology in businesses.
The award committee commended the West Colfax BID for having "accomplished significant improvements to the overall sustainability of the district. Through forward planning, proactive and targeted retrofits, the BID has structured a future plan for increased sustainability in building and construction while also actively educating and supporting existing business owners in 'green' retrofits. The program has already shown significant, measurable progress, and their model for how to work with a BID to establish and implement sustainable goals could be easily adapted by other downtown districts."
Projects such as this showcase how solar lighting can play an instrumental role in helping cities and municipalities find a green alternative to traditional lighting and reduce their overall costs. Many areas have since followed in their footsteps to include a solar lighting installation with their downtown main streets and improvement projects.