Not One Fixture Down: How Cape Canaveral Made Solar Lighting the Coastal Standard

A Coastal Infrastructure Problem

Cape Canaveral sits on a barrier island on Florida’s Space Coast, where hurricanes and tropical storms are a regular part of life. When Zach Eichholz, Chief Resilience Manager & Emergency Operations Coordinator, and his team evaluated their lighting situation in 2019, the existing fixtures were making an already challenging environment harder to manage.

The city’s older solar lights, sourced from a different vendor, had two large solar panels mounted at the top of tall masts, roughly 20 feet in the air. In high winds, they acted like sails and were prone to toppling during hurricanes. Some lights didn’t even make it through a strong thunderstorm.

Meanwhile, critical city infrastructure – including the water reclamation facility serving all 10,000 residents – relied on grid-tied lighting that blacked out during every storm. For a facility operating 24 hours a day to keep the city’s wastewater systems running, that was a real problem.

Why FLT: Resilience, Efficiency and Community Fit

The switch to FLT started at the water reclamation facility in 2019 and quickly became the blueprint for the rest of the cities’ outdoor lights. The FLT solar fixtures were a clear leap forward: self-contained, lower profile, easier to install and built to run all night without the grid.

The design difference was immediately obvious. The low-profile form was aerodynamic and provided little for wind to grab onto – a critical distinction on a barrier island that sees multiple storms every year. Six hurricane seasons later and the fixtures are standing strong.

The community response at Meadow Creek Park exceeded expectations. Residents who had concerns about safety and security found that the motion activated lighting addressed them directly. FLT's solar lights are designed to detect movement and illuminate as people pass, meaning the paths stay dark when they’re empty and shine light when they’re in use. For a park setting, that distinction mattered more than anyone anticipated.

Neighbors adjacent to the park had concerns about light intrusion, however Addison recalls residents stopping him in the street to say how pleased they were once the lights went in.

The Police Department saw an added benefit. Because FLT lights only activate on motion, a light turning on in a dark park became a signal worth paying attention to.

What started as a pathway lighting solution had quietly become a community safety tool and made a case for what was possible along Highway 9.

$795K in Grant Funding: Frisco’s Case for Solar Lighting

With Meadow Creek Park validated, the next opportunity came into focus. Frisco's Main Street lights were getting hit by trucks and the town needed to make a critical decision. Replacing the aging hardwired system with a conventional approach would have cost $800K. However, conversations about DarkSky compliance were already starting to surface, and as a DarkSky Approved manufacturer, FLT was already positioned to meet that requirement.The town had been building momentum around solar. The stars were aligning.

Frisco applied for a Colorado Department of Local Affairs Mineral Impact Assistance Fund grant for the median and roundabout lighting along Highway 9. They were able to secure approximately $795K in grant funding, nearly covering the cost of a custom FLT order: 125 BFL Deco Bell solar streetlights crafted in collaboration with Norris Design, replicating the bell housing shape that had become a signature of Frisco's streetscape.

The community reaction was immediate.

Solar Lighting Reliability Across Eight Municipal Projects

With eight projects completed and more underway, Frisco's relationship with FLT has grown beyond a single project. The Peninsula Recreation Area, solar plaza lighting, monument lighting and Town Hall. What began as a fix for failing conduit has become the way Frisco builds.

A key part of the process: the FLT app. Unlike hardwired systems where adjusting output means swapping bulbs and spending money on testing, FLT's wireless-connected solar lights can be dialed in on the spot.

Solar Lighting Built for Colorado Winters

For a mountain town in Summit County, performance in harsh weather is non-negotiable. Addison did his homework before committing at scale, asking where the products were made and where they had been successfully deployed in comparable climates

A Simple Standard

For Addison, the measure of a product isn't just the installation. It's also everything that comes after: the maintenance calls, the staff training, the ability to troubleshoot without bringing in outside help. FLT has passed that test across eight projects and counting.

For the Town of Frisco, the road to reliable solar lighting started with a frustrating wire pull on a deteriorating median and ended with hundreds of FLT solar street lights, lighting one of Colorado's most traveled mountain corridors. The conduit stays in the ground. The lights stay on. And the community approves.