Daly City approves sole‑source purchase of Grid Shift solar streetlights for coastal RO460 zone

The Daly City Council approved a sole‑source purchase agreement on April 13 to replace 49 lights in RO460 with Grid Shift’s Predator Series solar street lights, provided through GBL Infrastructure Solutions. Staff characterized the purchase as a pivot from a previously approved conversion to parallel wiring, electing instead a solar conversion that avoids extensive rewiring.

Director Chu told council the city owns roughly 3,600 street lights and identified 14 series (RO) circuits; RO460 includes 49 lights bounded by Skyline Drive, Ocean Drive and Westmore Avenues. The Predator Series was selected after San Bruno’s evaluation and because it provides an integrated 5G‑enabled control system with Grid Shift connect for remote diagnostics and adaptive dimming.

Grid Shift representative Ryan described how the system supports remote dimming, time‑based profiles and adaptive learning to preserve battery life during inclement weather and fog. Staff said the solar pilot will use lithium iron phosphate batteries expected to last 13+ years (about 5,000 cycles), and that the fixtures can reach up to about 190 lumens per watt. The city will implement the RO460 pilot using existing RO460 conversion funds (just under $500,000). The purchase was approved by voice vote.