SALINA — The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Town of Salina announced on Dec. 7 the start of an energy-efficient LED streetlight installation throughout the town as part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Street Lighting NY program. The project will save the town about $400,000 in annual utility costs and significantly reduce […]
SALINA — The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Town of Salina announced on Dec. 7 the start of an energy-efficient LED streetlight installation throughout the town as part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Street Lighting NY program.
The project will save the town about $400,000 in annual utility costs and significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, NYPA contended in a news release. Smart Street Lighting NY is a statewide program that calls for at least 500,000 streetlights across New York to be replaced with LED technology by 2025.
The $2.5 million upgrade, financed and implemented by NYPA, includes the replacement of nearly 2,800 streetlights throughout Salina with energy-saving LED fixtures, improving lighting quality and neighborhood safety, while reducing energy and maintenance costs, the release stated. The installation is expected to begin in January and be completed in the spring.
NYPA is also providing $300,000 through a Smart Cities grant for the project, which include asset-management nodes and Smart Street Lighting controls that allow for the automatic reporting of outages, minimizing maintenance costs. In addition, the light fixtures now have the capability to be dimmed and remotely controlled. NYPA and Salina are in the process of designing additional Smart Street Lighting features to be implemented following completion of the LED-fixture upgrades.
“While saving taxpayer dollars and reducing energy consumption, this project will ensure Salina stays on the cutting edge of technology. Purchasing the street lighting will allow the town to deploy Smart Lighting Controls and Smart Cities technology to help keep our community safe and our services efficient. The Street Lighting project is also keeping the town on track to reach its goal for being a Clean Energy Community,” Town of Salina Supervisor Colleen Gunnip said.
NYPA is working with cities, towns, villages, and counties throughout New York to fully manage and implement a customer’s transition to LED streetlight technology. The authority provides upfront financing for the project, with payments to NYPA made in the years following from the cost-savings created by the reduced energy use of the LED streetlights, which are 50 to 65 percent more efficient than alternative street lighting options.
Cuomo in November announced the completed installation of energy-efficient LED streetlights throughout the City of Syracuse as part of the Smart Street Lighting NY program. Syracuse, through a partnership with NYPA, replaced all of its streetlights with the Smart City technologies, saving the city $3.3 million annually and reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by nearly 8,500 tons a year.