Kiama Council has marked a major milestone in its net-zero efforts with the final installation of LED street lights across the municipality.
Endeavour Energy will this month complete the LED upgrade of 951 street lights in Kiama, reducing Council’s electricity bill, maintenance costs and carbon emissions.
Mayor, Neil Reilly joined Endeavour Energy’s General Manager Business Services, Andrew Pittman, to see the Endeavour Energy crew in action.
“Thanks to the great work of Endeavour Energy, we are taking an exciting, important and big step forward for Kiama Council, our residents and ratepayers, in realising a sustainable future for our community,” Mayor Reilly said.
“Upgrading our non-LED street lights is a major part of our Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan which we adopted last July, and it’s amazing that we’ll soon be able to put a big green tick next to it.”
The Corporate Emissions Reduction Plan (2021 – 2031) commits Kiama Council to having our operations and facilities reaching ‘net zero’ within 10 years.
As well as the upgrade to LED street lights, the Plan includes initiatives such as securing a long term supply of renewable power and exploring the option of photovoltaic and battery storage for the Leisure Centre, The Pavilion and Community Recycling Centre.
Mr Pittman said Endeavour Energy’s street light program was delivering both environmental and financial benefits not only for Kiama Council and its community, but communities across the region.
“Due to the lower emissions and higher operational efficiency of LED lighting, both the electricity savings and reduction in carbon emissions will be significant,” Mr Pittman said.
“Replacing these 951 lights will lead to a CO2 reduction of 277,660 kg per annum, the equivalent of taking close to 130 cars off the road.”
The upgrade of major street lights, which represents about 45% all street lights, follows an earlier upgrade of lighting in suburban streets.
Converting to a full LED network is expected to save 410,119 kWh of electricity each year, which equates to 332 tonnes of CO2.
The saving to Council’s electricity bill is estimated at $48,000 a year.
