Cumberland City Council is teaming up with two of Australia's biggest energy companies Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy to replace old streetlights with new carbon-saving light-emitting diode (LED) lights across the Local Government Area.
As part of the LED Streetlighting Replacement Program, close to 11 thousand old and inefficient lights will be replaced, allowing Council to reduce its carbon emissions and electricity.
Calculations show that the conversion to the new lighting can reduce up to 4,444 megawatts of electricity per year and lower carbon emissions annually by almost four thousand tonnes.
Cumberland City Mayor Lisa Lake said the program is an important step to reducing our impact on the local environment.
"This is a great program that aligns with our vision for Cumberland to become a more carbon-neutral, sustainable, greener and cleaner community," she said.
"Through this program Council will not only reduce its impact on the environment, but will also reduce its light pollution, lower the cost of electricity and save on maintenance costs."
Council's streetlights are either made up of old mercury vapour or compact fluorescent, which over time have had a negative impact on the environment and are being phased out of the market.
Mayor Lake said this is one of the many environmental initiatives that Council is rolling out to help reduce carbon emissions.
"We are currently working towards reducing our carbon emissions through our Energy Savings Action Plan," she said.
"We are in the process of moving our fleet to electric hybrid vehicles (EV) and have installed solar photovoltaic (PV) technology at 15 Council operated facilities across the Cumberland Local Government Area."
The LED Streetlighting Replacement Program is due to be rolled out in January 2023 and is expected to take two years to complete.
