U.S. Unit Provides Solar Powered Streetlights
Baghdad, Iraq
The market in the village of Rabi was until very recently a rather dark place, with many little shop and food stands in an area of northeastern Baghdad. When sundown occurred, the marketplace closed up.
But there were lights added to the site of late, and now business can continue into the night.
Rows of brand new streetlights are in the Rabi village now, and the local vendors are very happy to be able to conduct business after the sun has gone down. The new lights are solar powered, they charge during the sunlit hours, and then after the darkness overtakes the village they glow giving off a warm, welcome light.
The 2nd Battalion of the 319th Airborne provided the new sources of illumination. This Artillery Field Regiment, which is the U.S. Forces unit responsible for security in the village of Rabi, provided these lights to help the vendors improve their sales.
First installed nearly a month ago in early December, there have been forty of the eighteen-foot tall lights installed throughout the Rabi Fish market. The results have been startling, sales are up for most vendors, and you can see the difference on the faces of the shopkeepers and small businesses, all smiling faces.
Having the new streetlights also has boosted security in a positive way. People are coming out to the street, feeling safer, and staying out longer in the evening. All of this is a huge boon to the local economy.
Each of the new lights is equipped with a solar panel that takes in sunlight as energy during the day. Then, after dark the stored energy is used to power bulbs for the dark evening hours.
