20,000 street lights to be replaced with LEDs after Greenwich Council secures £11.5 million loan
Around 20,000 street and park lights will be replaced with modern LEDs in Greenwich after the council secured an £11.5 million loan from the Mayor of London.
The move will save the borough £1million a year in energy and maintenance costs and will be a more environmentally friendly option.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich secured the loan from The Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF) to replace all its 20,000 traditional street lights with modern LED equivalents.
The savings from the energy and maintenance costs will be used in part to repay the loan over a period of 19 years.
The new light-emitting diode lanterns, known as LEDs, will ensure that the borough’s streets are lit to the current modern standards, but they are also highly efficient and environmentally friendly as they concentrate light on where it is needed with less light pollution.
Cllr Sarah Merrill, Cabinet Member for Environment, Sustainability and Transport, said: “The new LED street light upgrade is a significant piece of work demonstrating our commitment to tackling the climate emergency and reaching our ambitious target of net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
“We are forecast to save 6,770,589 kWh per year, reducing our street lighting energy consumption by 74 per cent and saving around £1 million.
“It will also reduce our CO2 consumption by 2,080 tonnes per year – the equivalent of driving a medium sized car from Greenwich to Edinburgh and back 9,000 times.
“Not only are the LED lights better for the environment, but they reduce light pollution, deliver best value for money and can make streets feel safer.”
MEEF has provided competitive and flexible, long-term finance to the Council, enabling it to accelerate the rollout of the street-lighting across the borough.
Fifteen thousand lantern replacements will be completed in around a year and around 5,000 lamp posts will be replaced over two to three years.
The contract to install the lights has been awarded to FM Conway and works will start September 2021.
The replacements will be done in priority order and as each street is due the Council will write to residents before installation starts.
Most units being replaced are post top lanterns only – no digging in the street is required and it will take around 20 minutes.
The contract to install the lights has been awarded to FM Conway and works will start this summer.
Find out more: www.royalgreenwich.gov.
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