Street lights to be replaced with LEDs in Wolverhampton through £5.8 million scheme
Street lights across Wolverhampton are set to be become greener as LED lights are installed.
Work has started on installing 27,570 LED street lights which will replace existing sodium lamps across the city.
It forms the first phase of the city's new £5.8m Smart Lighting Scheme which aims to make savings of around £1m per year.
The LED replacements will also reduce carbon emissions by more than 5,600 tons a year and save 6,642 kilowatts per hour of energy, according to the council.
Councillor Steve Evans, cabinet member for city environment at Wolverhampton Council, said: "The Smart Lighting scheme will help support our commitment to make the Wolverhampton Council carbon-neutral by 2028.
"As well as helping lower our carbon emissions, it will help reduce our energy consumption and promote healthier transport choices.
"These are all areas that are highlighted in Wolverhampton’s Sustainability Strategy and Implementation Plan and the planned work will help us to make sure there is less cost to our city, both financially and in terms of energy.
"The Smart Lighting scheme also fits with the UK-wide Smart Cities agenda, making us one of only a handful of cities in the country leading the way in using this technology.
"I’m really pleased to see work starting on the first phase of the project and, as it develops, I hope the changes we are making will help residents to choose alternative methods of transport."
The second phase of the scheme – due to start later this year – will see the new street lights getting smart by connecting to a central management system.
It will allow them to be remote controlled and dimmed or brightened depending on the need – including helping people see their way to football matches post-coronavirus.
The project has been co-funded by the council and a grant of £2,403,136 from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Further phases will involve a partnership with the Canal and River Trust to install solar lighting along stretches of the canal, allowing it to be used for longer by cyclists and pedestrians.
Other works include residential on-street charging points for electrical vehicles installed in locations across the city, with monitors showing the amount of cycle journeys and the reduction in CO2 emissions.
