(October 20, 2003) National Solar Technologies (NST), a renewable lighting and power systems manufacturer from Upstate New York, has been awarded a contract with North San Diego County Transportation District to manufacture and install up to 150 solar powered bus stop lighting systems at bus stops across the northern portion of San Diego County. The award came after a very competitive bid process between other nationally known solar lighting manufacturers. The solar powered bus stop lighting systems will be installed over the next 8 months at both sheltered and non-shelter bus stops.

      "Keeping the solar lighting systems easy to operate, maintain and most of all built to last, are the key guidelines for a product that will meet the requirements of our customers and also meet the needs of their customers that utilize the bus stop lighting systems," said Paul Vargovich, Jr., Sales Engineer at National Solar Technologies.

      National Solar Technologies manufactures renewable lighting and power systems for a multitude of applications. These include portable power systems, commercial power systems, street lighting, parking lot lighting, area/walkway lighting, flood lighting and custom-engineered lighting and power systems. NST is a GSA Contractor that provides its products and services throughout the US Federal Government.

San Diego Union Tribune
By Deborah Ensor, Staff Writer
Day Light to Night Light

       After last year's energy crisis some residents of North Park started looking to the sky for answers. They needed to light their neighborhood streets at night, and they were having some problems. Energy costs were soaring. People were less and less willing to give easements to SDG&E for underground utilities need to hook up streetlights.

      So, North Park turned to the sun. In doing so, it has become the first neighborhood in San Diego to use solar-powered lights to illuminate public streets. "We are not beholden to the electric company in any way," said Ellen Smart a member of the North Park Landscape, Lighting, and Maintenance District. "And the price of sunshine never goes up." The maintenance district, formed in 1996, collects a tax assessment of about $14 from about 8,000 parcels in North Park every year. That $300,000 is spent on sidewalks, streetlights, and trees. The district is run by a volunteer group of residents who hope to plant 225 trees and 150 streetlights.

     "It was last years' energy debacle, that's what inspired the outside-the-box thinking," said Martin Chevalier, Chairmen of the maintenance district. "We have opened the door on a new way of getting light for North Park." The illumination of a solar light is just as strong as that of an electric light, and it can hold a charge if the sun doesn't shine for up to five days. An electrical streetlight can cost between $2,000 and $5,000 depending on how much underground work, wiring and trenching is needed. If the light goes in the middle of the block, it can cost much more to run the cables and to dig up and replace the sidewalks.

     Because "the cost of solar lights is going down and the cost of power and the cost of trenching lines is going up every year, its becoming more and more feasible to do this," said Paul Vargovich of National Solar Technologies of New York, which sold North Park the lights.

Military Refueling Depot Powered By The Sun and Wind - Aberdeen, MD

     National Solar Technologies, manufacturer of the EN-R-PAK® and EN-R-LIGHT® product lines, installed the EN-R-PAK® 4800 Watt solar and wind charged power system for the U.S. Military at Aberdeen Proving Ground. MD refueling depot. The power system incorporated 480 Watts of solar modules and 400 Watts from the wind turbine. The power produced by the system is 4800 watts at 230 volts. Energy is stored in maintenance free gel batteries. The shell of the power system that houses the batteries and supports the electronics enclosure was manufactured in National Solar Technologies' fabrication shop. This system and many others are available from NST for a wide variety of applications.