Innovative smart solar energy – solartonic® transforms blight into light – South Oak Cliff Renaissance Park in Dallas, TX

In 2018, Trust for Public Land began collaborating with the high school and residents of South Oak Cliff, a neighborhood in Dallas, to transform a creek and a nearby vacant lot into a community green space that would become a beacon of health and wellness for the neighborhood.

The Trust for Public Land and the City of Dallas wanted the park to deliver future-proof solutions that would not only meet the community’s needs for facility, safety, and accessible Internet, but do so in a way that is climate resilient and minimizes the operational and maintenance cost burden which older, legacy park technologies place on the Dallas Park and Recreation Department. 

The park features smart solar-powered lighting with free public Wi-Fi, designed and supplied by solartonic®, an innovative smart solar energy company based in SE Michigan. solartonic designed, manufactured (in the US) and commissioned fifteen uniquely beautiful ‘monopole’ off-grid solar lights that autonomously illuminate the park with 100 percent solar energy, improving public safety on site and in the surrounding areas. The solar-powered system also includes a free public Wi-Fi network plus two security cameras which were requested by the community as an added safety amenity. What’s more: the use of solar power will avoid the release of 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide and save $71,000 in electricity costs over the next 20 years. Solartonic is also partnering with the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department to service the entire installation and continuously monitor the solar powered smart security systems for the park.

The 1.8-acre park incorporates all-weather exercise equipment, an outdoor classroom, a basketball half-court, and rock-climbing boulders designed by local students.