The development of smart cities and reduction in the prices of solar street lighting solutions will increase the value of the solar street lighting market from $5.7 billion in 2019 to $14.6 billion by 2030, at a 9.4% CAGR during 2020–2030 (forecast period). Other factors contributing to the growth include the rapid infrastructure development and shift to solar power for sustainable and reliable lighting. Moreover, the fast-paced urbanization in developing countries is generating numerous opportunities for the market to grow.
Governments across the globe are developing smart cities that will deploy solar street lights in large numbers, thus amplifying the solar street lighting market size. India, Saudi Arabia, China, South Korea, and the U.S. are home to numerous smart cities, and more of these are under development. These countries are constructing such cities for enhancing the standard of living and conserving precious resources. For instance, South Korea, in September 2018, signed a letter of intent with Malaysia to construct a smart city in Kota Kinabalu in Sabah.
Moreover, the solar street lighting market is observing the adoption of smart solar street lights in large numbers. This is due to the features of these systems such as low operational and maintenance costs, energy efficiency, and quick fault detection because of real-time monitoring by their central control unit. These advanced devices are being deployed in smart cities to monitor and decrease energy consumption. With the coming of new smart cities and increasing urbanization, the demand for such solar street lights will escalate during the forecast period.
The component segment of the solar street lighting market is divided into lamp, solar panel, battery, and controller. Under this segment, the solar panel division generated the highest revenue in 2019, and it is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Solar panels are a quintessential component of a solar lighting system, and they are relatively costlier than other components. These panels offer electricity to charge the battery in daylight, which illuminates the lamps attached to them in less or no sunlight.
During the historical period (2014–2019), the Asia-Pacific (APAC) market accounted for the largest share. This was due to the rising expenditure on infrastructure development and growing number of government initiatives in South Korea, India, Australia, China, and Japan for the installation of solar lighting systems. As per the International Energy Agency (IEA), China was the largest contributor to the APAC market in 2019, as it installed solar lighting systems the most widely. These factors will also help the market in maintaining its dominance during the forecast period.
