The New York Power Authority and the City of Kingston today announced the start of installation of energy-efficient 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—the equivalent of taking approximately 110 cars off the road. 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.
“Replacing streetlights with energy-efficient LEDs reduces energy and maintenance costs, protects the environment, and improves safety—it’s truly a win-win for Kingston and municipalities across the state,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “Under the Governor’s Smart Street Lighting NY program, NYPA is in the process of replacing tens of thousands of streetlights across the state and fully expects to exceed the Governor’s goal of replacing 500,000 lights by 2025.”
“I would like to thank Governor Cuomo for instituting this invaluable initiative that will cut hundreds of thousands of dollars in the city’s ongoing energy costs,” said Kingston Mayor Steve Noble. “I would also like to thank the Office of Sustainability for working so closely with NYPA to make this project a reality. When a project can save the city taxpayers money and make our community more sustainable, it’s a win-win for everyone. We look forward to getting this project underway in the coming weeks.”
NYPA is working with cities, towns, villages and counties throughout New York to fully manage and implement a customer’s 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 percent 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 three percent—equivalent to 1.8 million New York households—by 2025. To learn more about the Smart Street Lighting NY program, visit the program Web page on NYPA’s Web site.
