StreetLightNews

In Menasha, Wisconsin, an energy saving proposal was approved last week. With a no-interest loan from the city-owned utility’s power suppplier, WPPI, they expect a fast payback based on annual energy savings.

According to Don Merkes, Mayor in Menasha, the project has the potential of saving $60,000 annually, divided between energy savings from new bulbs and savings on maintenance.

If the calculations are correct, the payback will be les than three years.

The article does not mention whether the city is also planning on installing a centralized control solution.

Read more in the local newspaper here.

A 50/50 consortium between Skanska and John Laing has been appointed Preferred Bidder for a streetlight PFI scheme in Surrey, UK.The GBP 74 million project encompasses the design, build, finance and operation of all streetlights in Surrey over the next 25 years.

Within the first five years, Skanska is expected to replace 70,000 streetlights and refurbish another 18,000 lighting columns.

Using new energy-efficient equipment, the carbon impact of delivering street lighting services will be reduced.

See more here. 

By proposing to remove 200 streetlights throughout the community, the Street Light Committee of Kennebunk, Maine, expects to save $20,000 annually.This proposal has spurred a great deal of discussion amongt local citizens, who believe that public safety is being compromised. (Source: seacoastonline.com).Many other communities have faced hikes in electricity rates without having to actually turn off the lights. Replacing old fixtures or even installing a more advanced, central control solution, would pay for itself over a relatively small period of time.Surprisingly, many streetlight committees seem to have very short horizons. Instead of working on a permanent solution that cuts costs, they often choose the short-sighted way.

As part of a 17-point plan to make Phoenix the greenest city in America, mayor Phil Gordon has announced that the city will be testing LED streetlights on a small segment of its streets.

Having advanced their current streetlight installations as far as they can, this initiative offers a way of lowering energy consumption even further.

Read more about the 17 point plan here.

In Vietnam, authorities are working on a draft law on improving and streamlining energy use. Currently, the country wastes an estimated US$ 1 million worth of energy every day due to inefficient energy usage.

Putting this money towards solutions in the LV grid such as substation monitoring and intelligent streetlight control would be a simple and fast way of installing energy saving solutions that pay for themselves relatively fast.

In Ho Chi Minh City, energy saving measures within streetlight have had a significant impact on the city’s CO₂ emissions. In the first half of 2009, Ho Chi Minh City has saved approximately 114.8 million kWh of electricity, according to the Director of the municipal Energy Conservation Center (ECC), Huynh Kim Tuoc.

In 2008, the city replaced 131,000 incandescent bulbs with more energy efficient bulbs, saving 220 million kWh.

The city expects to replace the remaining 200,000 incandescent bulbs by the compact bulbs by next year for the local public lighting.