Title
LED Streetlight Conversion Project Update
Description
The report provides the Transportation, Infrastructure and Innovation Subcommittee with an update on the LED Streetlight Conversion Project.
THIS ITEM IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY.
Report
Summary
The LED Streetlight Conversion Project was a Citywide effort that replaced approximately 91,000 existing high pressure sodium (HPS) non-decorative streetlight fixtures with energy-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures. After extensive testing and vetting, the City adopted the 2,700 Kelvin LED fixture as the standard for all streetlights. These fixtures provide a warmer color temperature and improved light quality on City roadways. LED technology can also improve roadway visibility and safety due to the improved distribution of light compared to HPS streetlights.
On Nov. 30, 2016, the City Council approved entering into a $30 million contract with Ameresco (Contract 144691), under their enhanced capital (ESCO) proposal to complete the LED Streetlight Conversion Project, and included the provision of an extended ten-year warranty. The estimated annual energy savings is approximately 50 percent, with an estimated total net savings of approximately $22 million through 2030 due to the savings in energy and maintenance costs.
This project also presented the opportunity to catalog all City of Phoenix streetlights and enter this information into a geographic information system (GIS) database. The information included within this database would be vital in keeping accurate internal records for future streetlight outages and coordinating accurate billing with the local power providers, Arizona Public Service (APS) and Salt River Project (SRP). APS and SRP bill the City for streetlight power usage based on average usage per light fixture, as the streetlights are on an unmetered system. The LED lights are considerably more efficient and use less energy than the HPS fixtures, and updating the records for APS and SRP was a critical component in ensuring the City is accurately billed. More complete information regarding long-term energy savings from the LED Streetlight Conversion Project will be available once APS and SRP finalize the process of updating their systems to reflect the change from HPS to LED fixtures.
It should be noted that in some cases, problems with old wiring (not with the fixtures covered under the ten-year warranty) were realized when the new LED fixtures were installed. Along with the department taking a proactive role in identifying streetlight outages, this has resulted in overall higher than expected maintenance costs in the short-term. However, the Street Transportation Department anticipates maintenance needs will normalize by next year, which will allow the City can accurately track the overall reduction in maintenance costs as a result of the LED conversion.
The LED Streetlight Conversion Project was started in November 2017 and completed in early 2019 with approximately 90,911 HPS streetlights converted to LED. The total cost of the project was $29 million. This project was one of the largest LED conversions completed by a municipality in the United States.
As of August 2020, the City has experienced the following benefits:
- $1,922,730 (33 percent) in direct energy savings to date. This number is expected to increase based off yearly billing data.
- A reduction of 25,802,987 KWh annually which equates to the average annual power usage of 2,500 U.S. homes.
- A reduction of approximately 18,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. This is equivalent to removing approximately 3,800 vehicles from the road.
- A reduction of maintenance costs associated with components of the fixture as LED fixtures last longer than HPS fixtures, and the contract provided a ten-year replacement warranty.
- $1,095,545 in rebates from APS through their APS Solutions for Business program which provided rebates for the installation of energy efficient infrastructure.
- Ameresco also recycled the old HPS fixtures and provided the proceeds to the City for a total of $276,805.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.