More than 30 NSW local councils are set to partner with Ausgrid to deliver what could potentially be the largest and most advanced smart street lighting upgrade in Australia.
The deal would see more than 92,000 streetlights upgraded with energy efficient LEDs and smart controls over the next three years, the southern Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (SSROC) said in a statement today.
It says the majority of the lights to be upgraded are on main roads across metro Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter, with 25 councils having already agreed in principle to the deal.
The program adds smart controls to the lights on main roads to help detect faults, optimise maintenance, measure energy use and facilitate off-peak dimming in the future. The lights would also be able to accommodate future smart city sensors.
Ausgrid CEO, Richard Gross, said the upgrade will provide major energy savings which will significantly contribute towards Australia’s net zero target.
“This project will deliver safer, more affordable, more reliable and more sustainable outcomes for our shared customers and community,” Mr Gross said.
“Ausgrid has already upgraded around 130,000 residential streetlights to LEDs and expects to complete a further 20,000 in the next few months. Once the main road program is complete by 2024 almost a quarter of a million street lights will have been replaced.
“Councils can expect average energy savings of 56% annually and total reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of more than 34,000 tCO2-e per year from this latest Ausgrid proposal.”
SSROC President and Burwood Mayor, John Faker said total costs for councils would reduce by around $3 million per year thanks to significant energy and maintenance savings.
“The new lights will deliver better quality lighting, make our roads safer, dramatically cut energy consumption and save our communities money,” President Faker said.
“If supported by councils, this deal will be a big win for councils, the community and the environment. It’s also another excellent example of what can be achieved when councils work together across the region.”
SSROC CEO, Helen Sloan said the project will be a “quantum shift” in the lighting of main roads.
“We’ll be moving from lights that were developed in the middle of the last century to ones that are at the leading edge,” Ms Sloan said.
“These new lights provide better lighting with smart controls enabling even lower energy consumption, and ports for future Smart City sensors, to help councils to deliver community services.”
The global lighting industry has recently agreed on a common approach to how lights are to be built to accommodate smart city sensors, known as Zhaga.
The kinds of sensors that councils are showing interest in would deliver better traffic and pedestrian counts, monitor the environment for pollutants and detect high noise levels, said Secretary General of the international Zhaga Consortium, Dr Dee Denteneer.
Dr Denteneer has praised the Ausgrid/SSROC agreement.
“The scale of what is being proposed, across a major global city, is truly a landmark agreement. As many cities around the world are learning, LEDs with smart controls will make the city safer, and healthier at lower costs,” he said.
“Taking a Zhaga-based approach to support additional sensors on every street light ensures that the benefits are lasting and future-proof.”
The 29 councils participating in the SSROC Street Lighting Improvement Program are: Bayside, Burwood, Canada Bay, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cessnock, City of Sydney, Cumberland, Georges River, Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lake Macquarie, Lane Cove, Mosman, North Sydney, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Port Stephens, Randwick, Ryde, Singleton, Strathfield, Sutherland, Upper Hunter, Waverley, Willoughby and Woollahra.
