Seattle to Aid Other Cities Switching To Green Streetlights
Seattle was named the leader Monday of a national consortium of cities that want more energy-efficient streetlights.
The U.S. Department of Energy chose Seattle and Seattle City Light for their work in seeking more environmentally friendly technology and carbon neutrality.
Seattle in 2007 began replacing its streetlights with longer-lasting, brighter LED streetlights. Making the switch required a lot of product testing and research, and the city can now share that knowledge with other places considering the switch.
Seattle intends to replace 40,000 streetlights in the next five years, including about 5,000 this year.
The replacement will cost about $23 million over five years, $1 million of which is from a federal grant. The city expects to save millions on energy and maintenance with the new lights.
With more than 34 million streetlights in use nationally, the DOE thinks switching to LED lights could save communities as much $750 million a year in energy costs.
As head of the Municipal Solid State Street Lighting Consortium, Seattle City Light will receive a $200,000 federal grant and recruit 50 cities to join.
Originally Posted by Seattle Times staff
