A “green” light tower

Mike Hambalek by Soleco's second generation solar and wind-powered light tower — Photo by Kevin Miller

Just like the Energizer bunny, inventors just keep going and going, creating new gadgets and gizmos. After all, they are imaginative and solution-oriented.

Meet Mike Hambalek, a serial entrepreneur from Cranbrook, B.C., and owner of Caliper Machine and Hydraulics. Hambalek already holds four patents.

For his latest venture, he teamed up with Bob Frampton to create a solar- and wind-powered LED light tower. Frampton had already designed a prototype solar-powered light tower.

Light towers are needed in remote locations by mining and oil companies, who spend up to $1 million a year in fuel costs to run diesel-generated halogen light towers.

Hambalek and Frampton replaced the halogen bulbs with energy-efficient LED lights and exchanged the polluting diesel generators with solar panels and wind turbines. They formed Soleco Technologies and went searching for a manufacturer.

They decided on a manufacturing plant in China that could build it from scratch in 20 days because all the parts are manufactured there. “If I had it made in Canada, it would have taken up to a year,” said Hambalek.

But the dynamic duo were disappointed in the quality of workmanship. Now after two generations of prototypes, they have found a new Chinese manufacturer that will start mass marketing this spring. Soon, Hambalek and Frampton will transfer manufacturing to Canada for better quality control.

Soleco’s third generation light tower derives two-thirds of its power from the sun and one-third from wind and includes a small backup diesel generator. The solar panels track the sun, making them up to 50 per cent more efficient.

And to make a great idea even better, the towers can be fitted with security cameras and Wi-Fi transmitters to create Internet hot spots in remote areas.

Hambalek believes their towers will easily pay for themselves within a year of operation due to fuel savings, making them cost-effective and good for the environment too.