Los Angeles LED Streetlight Program

The Los Angeles LED Streetlight Program was the product of a partnership between the City of Los Angeles and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). On completion, it will be the largest streetlight retrofit undertaken by a city to date, replacing 140,000 traditional streetlights with environmentally friendly LED lights. The project will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 40,500 tons and save $10 million annually, through reduced maintenance costs and energy savings.

Background

Street lighting costs represent one of the largest components of a city government’s utility bill, often accounting for 10 percent to 38 percent of the total bill. With nearly 35 million street lights in the United States, about 1 percent of all electricity is used by street lighting systems. Los Angeles’ streetlights use 168 gigawatt hours of electricity at an annual cost of $15 million, emitting 120,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Los Angeles is one of forty select cities working in collaboration with the CCI to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The CCI assists partner cities to make energy-savings improvements to buildings, transit systems, lighting and waste management.

Program Details

The Los Angeles LED Streetlight Program got underway in early 2008, when the Mayor’s Office established a working relationship with CCI to study the Mayor’s environmental initiatives. Thereafter the Mayor’s Office and the Bureau of Street Lighting collaborated directly with CCI’s Outdoor Lighting Program to review the latest technology, financing strategies and public private implementation models for LED retrofits. CCI’s modeling and technology analysis, as well as its financial advisory, served as key reference sources for the development of this comprehensive retrofit plan.

The LA 6th Street Bridge with Conventional Streetlights

The LA 6th Street Bridge with LED Streetlights

To be completed by 2013, the project is funded through a combination of energy rebates, the street lighting assessment fund and loans from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power - which will be repaid over seven years entirely through savings in energy and maintenance costs. In the eighth year, after the loan is repaid, the City will save $10 million annually through the more efficient and modern LED lighting. In addition, the new streetlights are equipped with a remote monitoring system which collects and centrally reports real-time performance data. Equipment failures are tracked, logged and synchronized with the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting maintenance work orders.

If all cities followed LA’s example, the world would reduce its carbon emissions by approximately 40 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. The program is just one example of how cities can cut costs while making a significant impact in the fight against climate change.

For Additional Information:

• Clinton Climate Initiative
• City Bureau of Street Lighting 
• Metropolitan Council of Washington Governments

Published: Wednesday, May 04, 2011