Barrie’s future gets a little greener, as the City begins converting streetlights to LED (light-emitting diodes).  All of Barrie’s streetlights (nearly 11,000) are expected to be converted to LED by October 2015.

“This is a very exciting and progressive project of our City,” says Barry Thompson, Manager of Energy Management. “Not only will LED lights help the City financially, but it is also the right choice for our planet. As a result of the LED Streetlight program, the amount of Greenhouse Gas emissions that will be reduced each year is equivalent to the amount of carbon sequestered by 14,000 tree seedlings grown for ten years.”

The project was approved by Council as part of the 2015 Budget, with a cost of roughly $5 million. However, the City will save more than twice that amount in energy and maintenance costs over 10 years. LED streetlights are projected to reduce energy use by 66% and maintenance costs by 80% per year (LED lights come with a 10-year warranty). Energy savings are estimated at 5,423,256 kWh per year, which is equivalent to a reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions of 546 metric tonnes. This represents a cost avoidance of CA $11,300,000 (US $8.90 million) over 10 years.

A portion of the LED Streetlight Project will be paid for by the Ontario Power of Authority Incentive Program, specific to exterior LED lighting. The City applied for the program and was pre-approved for an incentive in the amount of $911,000.

Barrie selected Local Authority Services (LAS) and its partner

RealTerm Energy to assess its existing streetlight network, create an energy efficient and cost-effective street lighting design, and coordinate the purchase of the new LED fixtures from CREE Canada, one of the world’s leading LED manufacturers. RealTerm Energy is redefining the municipal street lighting market with intelligent LED lighting systems and services that deliver unmatched energy and maintenance savings. LAS is a preferred provider of competitively priced and sustainable co-operative business services for Ontario municipalities and the broader public sector.

The contractor has separated the city into zones and will work from zone 1 to 4. Each zone is expected to take roughly 4 weeks to complete. A map of each zone is available at barrie.ca/EnergyEfficiency.