Blue Mountains City Council is currently replacing over 650 energy-guzzling streetlights across the City with new energy efficient LED light bulbs through the Light Years Ahead project, which is set to cut emissions and costs for Western Sydney councils.
Endeavour Energy has already replaced seventy percent of the old light bulbs with the full roll out expected to be completed in March 2016.
Parts of Faulconbridge, Katoomba, Linden, Springwood, Valley Heights and Winmalee will be Light Years Ahead with 80 watt, high emission, mercury vapour street lights, nearing the end of their 20-year life span, being replaced with a low emission, 18 watt LED light bulb.
Mayor, Councillor Mark Greenhill, said, “The Light Years Ahead project is a first step in establishing a more sustainable street lighting network across the City. The change-over will see an immediate and impressive 77 percent energy reduction for each street light and result in major cost savings.”
The $7.8 million Light Years Ahead project is an initiative of nine local councils in Western Sydney – Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, the Hills Shire, Holroyd, Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith. The project is coordinated by the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) and co-funded by the Australian Government.
By replacing old and inefficient light bulbs in eight percent of streetlights across the City, it is estimated that savings of over $800,000 and 3500 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over 20 years will be achieved for the Blue Mountains. The emissions savings are equivalent to lighting over 4300 Australian homes, heating and cooling over 1700 homes, and taking over 800 cars off the road each year over the same 20 year period.
WSROC President, Councillor Tony Hadchiti said that these savings were significant and showed what councils could achieve when they worked together. “Public lighting costs millions of dollars each year, with street lighting dominating 55 percent of our councils’ energy costs. So anything councils can do to reduce costs allows funding to be redirected to other projects and the delivery of services to their communities.”
The Mayor said, “I thank WSROC for their efforts to ensure residents of Western Sydney will be among the first in Australia to benefit from new energy efficient street lighting under the Light Years Ahead project.”
