Lockheed Martin is a company that many people have at least heard in passing, even if they aren't familiar with what the company actually does. However, if you aren't in the know about Lockheed Martin, their latest movements should definitely give you great insight into where the company is actually headed.

Lockheed Martin used to be known as just an aerospace and defense company, but as you might imagine, they've definitely branched out since those early beginnings. In fact, in order for a company to be considered great these days, they have to branch out and seek out other ventures.

Lockheed's current venture right now is actually a large solar power project in Florida -- Orange County, to be exact. The company won a contract to handle an aerospace project, but they've taken the project to the next level already.

The company installed a set of 35 solar LED streetlights at its company campus, where they'll actually be working on their latest Florida contract. While it's true that this isn't the first and only solar-powered outdoor lighting in Florida, the fact of the matter is that the Lockheed solar project is the largest installation in the state.

The new interest in solar power and alterna-energy in Florida has a direct financial cause as well as a direct financial benefit -- the solar LED lights are much cheaper, coming in at just 342,000$ over 20 years. Traditional lighting would be almost double that cost, at $563,000. This includes the wiring and the cost of the electricity itself.

Yet it goes without saying that cost isn't the only benefit that comes with this new generation of green lighting. These lights produce less carbon emissions, as well as keep the skies much darker than they would be with traditional lighting. You might not think of this, but many animals need a dark sky in order to handle basic life functions. When we take away this natural part of life for the animals, many problems occur.

Solar powered LEDs control the amount of light cast, which means that they only provide light where they're needed.

The LEDs used in this project were provided by Carmanah Technologies, a company based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The way the LEDs work is simple -- it's actually the combination of a powerful light bulb and a computer chip. This combination provides a very efficient and long-lasting light that can be targeted to one point or area that needs to be covered. This will help get rid of nighttime glare, a problem that impacts humans and wildlife alike.

Contrary to popular belief, the solar LEDs are actually quite commercially viable now due to advances in LED technology. There is no concern about losing effectiveness during cloudy days, since the lights installed at the Lockheed compound will have an array of four, size-32 car batteries that can store power to keep the entire system going for a while -- five consecutive nights in a row to be exact about it.

Overall, this is definitely a project that will be a major win for solar power in Florida, as well as an example that other states can follow along with in the future.