Celine Dion lit up Las Vegas, now people from Lot-et-Garonne are lighting it up with solar energy

Lot-et-Garonne lights up Las Vegas. The world capital of gambling, shining whatever the time of day or night, welcomes on its soil solar panels designed and manufactured… in the Agglomeration of Agen. After Africa (where the adventure really began), South America, Europe, Fonroche Lighting is moving its pawns to the land of Uncle Sam, where the company has quickly established itself on the public lighting market.

“We went there and realized that the offer was very weak in terms of technologies,” emphasizes Laurent Lubrano, CEO. In 2019, the Lot-et-Garonne company bought SolarOne, the leader in solar lighting in the United States, and developed its skills in its premises in Boston. “Today, we have around forty employees working there.” And this subsidiary could soon exceed French turnover… In 2024, Fonroche Lighting hopes to reach 100 million in turnover, including 25 million in North America. “Demand in the United States is exploding. We have several thousand street lamps planned.”

NASA, Tesla’s headquarters

In Las Vegas, solar lanterns were installed to compensate for the theft of copper cables that left entire neighborhoods in the dark. “These solutions, which do not require an underground network or electricity, not only reduce costs but also dependence on already overloaded electricity networks,” explains Laurent Lubrano. Which is not insignificant for the capital of Nevada… In total, 45 states and 270 American municipalities are customers of the leader in public solar lighting, including San Antonio, Denver, Philadelphia, Fort Worth, and Manhattan, in New York… As an anecdote, three private customers have also called on the Lot-et-Garonne company: NASA in Greenfield, the parking lots of Tesla headquarters in Austin, Texas and Virgin Galactic.

Upcoming flagship projects include Fort Worth, Texas, where Fonroche plans to install nearly 3,500 solar-powered lights in the city’s southern neighborhoods, particularly in historically disadvantaged areas. “The goal is to provide equitable urban regeneration while providing a sustainable and cost-effective lighting solution.”

Tailor-made

Whether in the United States or in France, “the impacts are very strong,” assures Laurent Lubrano, “because we eliminate kilometers of cables. We contribute to drastically reducing the electricity bill of communities, and the carbon impact is half that of network lighting.” Fonroche Lighting, which has nearly 200 employees in Agenais, including around forty dedicated to research and development, always works “around four pillars: power, autonomy, lifespan, competitiveness,” explains the director. “Our strength: making custom-made products [le lampadaire s’adapte au climat et contraintes locales, NDLR] and the assurance of lighting 365 days a year. » The lifespan of a panel is thirty years, the battery lasts almost twelve years.

Beyond performance, the world champion of solar lighting now wants to develop aesthetics. “This is the challenge of the future. After having demonstrated robustness, we must now try to correspond as well to the aesthetics of Calais as of Brive-la-Gaillarde. To do this, we are now working with designers and colorists.”

6,500 solar streetlights in the Agen metropolitan area by the end of 2027

In 2018, Jean-Marc Gilly, in charge of public lighting, and the elected officials of the Agglomeration of Agen looked into the thorny issue of public lighting. “20,000 light points, 1.6 million annual bills. With the prospect of an increase of 100,000 euros each year. We had to find a solution.” After a diagnosis and a call for tenders, the community chose to change all its street lamps in poor condition or aging, and replace them with solar. This represented a significant investment of 15 million euros. “At first, it was difficult to convince the elected officials of the benefits of such an operation.” Fonroche Lighting was chosen after a diagnosis and consultation with Ugap. “Today, 2,400 solar panels have been installed. A total of 3,500 should be installed in the coming months. “With the cumulative effect of turning off the lights at night, we have reduced the electricity bill by half, we have reduced the consumption in kilowatts by half,” says Jean-Marc Gilly. The elected official adds: “The maintenance cost has gone from 700,000 to 350,000 euros.” Faced with such figures, the community “obtained an extension of 6 million euros from UGAP. By the end of 2027, we should reach 6,500 solar streetlights in the Agglomeration,” concludes the mayor of Estillac.