Solar lighting by Novéa Designed to last
Given its climate and geography, solar-powered street lighting on Reunion Island is becoming increasingly popular. For several years now, the Réunion authorities have been committed to modernising their lighting infrastructure, prioritising autonomous, sustainable and high-performance solutions. Over the years, this equipment has proven its ability to effectively ensure the safety of public spaces whilst reducing energy consumption and the constraints associated with connection to the electricity grid.
Novéa Energies has been operating in Réunion for over 10 years, providing lighting solutions for residents across the entire island, in a wide variety of locations: roads, roundabouts, cycle paths, leisure areas and car parks… These projects demonstrate the ability of solar lighting to cater for a wide range of uses, regardless of the terrain’s constraints. Here is an overview of some of the landmark projects in Réunion.
Road lighting is required to meet specific technical requirements in order to ensure the safety of all road users, both vehicles and pedestrians. The correct level of illumination, uniformity, the positioning of the lights and a low glare level are all important criteria to be considered.
Outside urban areas, night-time traffic is generally lighter. For example, on the road leading to the Bagatelle recycling centre in Sainte Suzanne, the 7 Combi Top 3 units equipped with Loxo luminaires have been programmed to adjust their lighting in line with the site’s traffic levels. The streetlights operate at full power at the start and end of the night, then switch off completely in the middle of the night. A detection system then ensures that the lights switch back on automatically when a user passes by.
In urban areas, the main challenge remains always ensuring the safety of public spaces throughout the night. In Sainte-Suzanne, a global road renewal project using solar-powered solutions is providing reliable lighting for all users of the urban environment. The local council has installed Combi Top 5 dual-light units to illuminate both the main road and the adjacent cycle path.
In Saint-Leu, the local council has undertaken to modernise the street lighting on the main road through the town centre by replacing the ageing equipment with Novéa Energies solar-powered streetlamps. The aim? To adopt innovative technical solutions that are more energy-efficient and have low maintenance costs, whilst enhancing user safety. Here, there is no question of switching off the lighting in the middle of the night: The brightness of each unit is reduced to 40% when traffic is lighter, in order to optimise energy consumption without compromising visual comfort, thereby maintaining sufficient lighting for safety. The lighting network is also monitored using the SEVe Connect remote management solution, developed by SEVe, a sister company of the GROUPE RAGNI.
Saint-Denis is no exception and has, for several years, demonstrated a genuine commitment to developing solar lighting within its local area. The Boulevard de la Providence, situated in the capital of Réunion, serves as a concrete example of this. This road is now fully lit thanks to Novéa Energies’ streetlights, with the installation of 22 Combi Top 5+ units and one dual-lamp Combi Top 6. With a graphite-grey finish, the fixtures blend harmoniously into their surroundings while providing effective and sustainable lighting.
The applications of solar lighting are not restricted to public spaces but also extend to private infrastructure. At the Grand Port Maritime de La Réunion, 63 Combi Top 3 units illuminate the traffic lanes and quays. Here, the challenge was twofold: to provide high-performance lighting whilst minimising the impact on marine biodiversity. The colour temperature of the lighting is 2700K; the water’s surface is not illuminated, and a programme based on a standby mode with motion detection has been implemented during off-peak hours. To ensure long-term resistance to harsh marine conditions, the streetlights also feature an anti-corrosion treatment suited to the coastal environment.
Ensuring the safety of pedestrian crossings is a major road safety issue, particularly on high-traffic roads. In Bras-Panon, 6 pedestrian crossings along the RN2002 – one of the island’s main roads – have been fitted with 11 Combi Top 1 solar-powered streetlights. To ensure pedestrians are clearly visible from dusk until dawn, the lighting operates continuously throughout the night. These units also feature specialised optics designed specifically for pedestrian crossings, allowing the light to be focused directly on the crossing area and providing maximum safety for both pedestrians and drivers.
Roundabouts, like all major traffic routes, require reliable and appropriate lighting to ensure the safety of drivers and motorcyclists. One example is the Capitaine Lebourg roundabout in La Possession, where 18 Combi Top 5+ and 1 Combi Top 6 units have recently been installed. Equipped with Novéa Link technology and the SEVe Connect platform, these streetlights can be controlled locally or remotely to optimise their operation and maintenance.
In residential areas, street lighting must strike a balance between comfort, safety and discretion to preserve residents’ quality of life. Although it is essential to provide lighting throughout the night, it is not necessary to maintain the same intensity during periods of low traffic.
It was this approach that led the municipality of Salazie to incorporate solar lighting into its programme to expand and renovate the street lighting network. The old equipment has been replaced with more efficient and energy-saving LED luminaires, and the new Fabien Gabou housing estate has been fitted with 22 Combi Top solar streetlights from Novéa Energies. Designed to blend seamlessly into their surroundings with their pine green finish, these units are programmed to adapt to residents’ activity levels.
For new urban developments, solar lighting is a particularly suitable solution. Its installation requires neither connection to the electricity grid nor the digging of trenches for cables. As well as simplifying the work, it provides a long-term exemption from energy consumption costs.
Paths, parks and public gardens require a careful approach to lighting. Beyond ensuring safe movement, the aim is to create a pleasant atmosphere that is environmentally friendly and suited to the site’s uses.
Thanks to the wide range of its product, Novéa Énergies provides solutions able to meet these technical and aesthetic requirements. At the Moulin Joli park in La Possession, the walking paths are fitted with AKKOR 1.4 solar-powered columns. Combining modularity, discretion and aesthetic quality, these streetlights harmoniously complement the mains-powered luminaires installed by Ragni, preserving the park’s visual coherence.
In Sainte-Marie, the North Coast Path, which runs along the coastline and passes close to Roland Garros Airport, also benefits from solar-powered lighting designed to blend in with its surroundings. To make this popular walking and cycling route safer, the CINOR (Inter-municipal Community of Northern Réunion) has installed 51 Combi Top 3 streetlights. The project was specifically designed to meet aviation requirements and withstand the conditions of Réunion’s coastline: masts of varying heights depending on their proximity to the runways, low-reflection photovoltaic panels to prevent pilot glare, anti-nesting devices to limit the presence of birds, and anti-corrosion treatment. In addition, 8 units are fitted with the NOVLOAD USB charging module, allowing users to charge their electronic devices when the streetlight’s battery charge level permits.
In Saint-Leu, the pier is a particularly popular spot on weekends and in the evenings for the locals, who come to enjoy a stroll along the seafront and the playgrounds in the shade of the filaos. The City Council has opted to replace the ageing conventional lighting with a sustainable solar solution that is more energy-efficient and respectful of this natural environment. 16 bright yellow Combi Top luminaires (RAL 1006) now line the seafront. The playground areas, meanwhile, are lit by a MULTI power supply unit providing power to 4 Cirko Lyre luminaires from the Ragni range. This detached solution ensures reliable and sustainable solar lighting, even in shaded areas. The lighting schedule and the colour temperature of 2200 K were also specifically chosen to minimise the impact on the night-time environment.
Located in Saint-Pierre, the Pointe du Diable is one of the island’s must-see sites and a popular spot for walkers. To improve safety in the car park, 8 Combi Top 2 solar street lights have been installed. Their simplicity of installation – requiring no civil engineering works or connection to the grid – combined with their durability, made solar lighting the ideal solution for this exceptional natural site.
Car park lighting must provide a strong sense of security as soon as night falls, so that other users, one’s own vehicle and parking spaces can be easily spotted.
In Le Port, the Leroy Merlin store called on Novéa Énergies to make its car park safer using a solar-powered lighting solution tailored to its business. The 27 streetlamps installed are programmed to match the shop’s opening hours. They operate at full power for the 6 hours following sunset, then switch off when the car park is no longer in use, thereby optimising the system’s energy efficiency.
Another example of this application is the area around the École des Camélias in Saint-Leu. Redesigned a few years ago to improve the flow of buses and vehicles, the car park is now secured by 8 Combi Top 5 fitted with Griff luminaires. The lighting system has been programmed to operate in line with the school’s schedule, ensuring comfort and safety for users during peak times. The colour temperature of 3000 K enables everyone to see and be seen clearly, whilst the lights being switched off in the middle of the night helps to preserve nocturnal biodiversity.
In Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, in front of the Roquefeuil secondary school, which opened in 2022, a drop-off point has been created to enable buses and other vehicles to safely drop off pupils without disrupting traffic on the main road. To support this development, 2 Combi Top 5 dual-light units have been installed at strategic points, providing appropriate lighting during school start and finish times. The installation is complemented by 20 Combi Top 2 units, which ensure the safety of the pedestrian route leading to the secondary school.
Finally, the car park and picnic area providing access to the Cascade Délices in Sainte Suzanne has recently undergone a lighting refurbishment, with the old streetlights replaced by 4 Combi Top 3 units. Here too, the colour temperature and lighting programme have been adapted to ensure that this much-loved hiking spot remains safe after dark.
Lighting for street sports grounds and other sports facilities is essential to ensure people can move about safely and to enable physical activities to continue even after dark.
In L’Étang-Salé, 6 Combi Top 2 units have been installed around a multi-sports ground open to all. The Cilaos sports ground has also been fully equipped with Novéa Energies solar lighting solutions. Finally, a Combi Top 1 unit provides lighting for the street workout area in Corbeil, in the hills above Saint-Paul.
For these 3 projects, solar lighting was the natural choice thanks to the simplicity and speed of installation, as well as the systems’ fully autonomous operation, requiring no connection to the electricity grid and incurring no associated consumption costs.
The lighting programme has also been designed to adapt to the actual use of these spaces, which are particularly busy in the early evening. Users thus benefit from reliable, high-performance lighting, enabling them to practise their sporting activities and move about in complete safety.
In Réunion, solar lighting has become much more than a technical alternative: it represents a genuine choice for the region. Backed by strong political commitment and supported by particularly favourable sunlight conditions, this transition is accompanied by high expectations in terms of aesthetics, the visibility of installations and respect for biodiversity. Indeed, the majority of Novéa products installed on the island comply with the recommendations of the Réunion Charter for Responsible Lighting, championed by the SEOR. Particular attention is paid to the protection of Barau’s petrels, an endemic and iconic bird species of Réunion whose movements can be disrupted by lighting with cold colour temperatures; Novéa’s products therefore feature lighting with appropriate colour temperatures and a tailor-made programme during migration periods.
By combining performance, sustainability and respect for wildlife, Novéa Énergies’ solar solutions are helping to make Reunion Island a pioneer in the development of public lighting infrastructure that is more energy-efficient, more resilient and better integrated into its environment.
Subscribe to the newsletter
Security question: How many vowels are there in "Novéa"?
GDPR - Data protection regulation
Δ
