(Credit: Pixabay)The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the City of Kingston recently announced the start of installation of LED streetlights throughout the city as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Street Lighting NY program. The project will save the city more than $200,000 annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 570 tons per year. Smart Street Lighting NY is a statewide program that calls for at least 500,000 streetlights throughout the state to be replaced with LED technology by 2025.
The nearly $1.4 million upgrade, financed and implemented by NYPA, includes the replacement of 2,400 streetlights throughout the city with energy-saving LED fixtures, improving lighting quality and neighborhood safety while reducing energy and maintenance costs. Installation will begin next week and is expected to complete during the summer.
NYPA is working with cities, towns, villages, and counties throughout New York to fully manage and implement transition to LED streetlight technology. NYPA provides upfront financing for the project, with payments to NYPA made in the years following from the cost-savings created by the reduced energy use of the LED streetlights, which are 50 to 65% more efficient than alternative street lighting options.
Through this statewide street lighting program, NYPA’s government customers are provided a wide-array of lighting options to help meet their individual needs, including specifications on the lights to incorporate SMART technology, which can be used for dozens of other functions, such as cameras and other safety features, weather sensors, Wi-Fi, and energy meters.
The program directly supports the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the most aggressive climate change law in the nation, through the increased use of energy efficiency to annually reduce electricity demand by 3% by 2025.
In January, 2018, Governor Cuomo unveiled the 20th proposal of the 2018 State of the State: a comprehensive agenda to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing the clean energy economy.
Highlights of the agenda include:
Good news: The deadline for the 2020 Environment + Energy Leader Awards has been extended to January 20! Get details about submitting your entry here.
