Lake Macquarie’s future is looking brighter thanks to the rollout of more than 1400 LED streetlights across the City.
The project is set to save hundreds of tonnes of carbon emission each year.
The joint project of Lake Macquarie City Council and Ausgrid uses LED lights that require five times less electricity than the traditional version they replace.
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kay Fraser said 4800 streetlights in Lake Macquarie would eventually be replaced, leading to an even larger decrease in emissions.
More than 1400 have been upgraded since the rollout began in 2018.
“The new LED lights have a much slimmer profile, they’re designed to last up to 20 years, and they require less maintenance than traditional streetlights,” Cr Fraser said.
“Innovative projects like this help reduce our City’s greenhouse gas emissions and move us towards achieving our environmental targets.”
The rollout is part of a wider Ausgrid program in partnership with more than 30 local councils to replace 100,000 streetlights across the company’s network.
Ausgrid Chief Operating Officer Trevor Armstrong said the program was an important part of the network’s commitment to delivering more sustainable energy.
“As a business we’re proud to be collaborating with Council to deliver a better outcome for our customers and ratepayers,” Mr Armstrong said.
Once all 4800 Lake Mac streetlights are replaced, Council’s carbon emissions are expected to drop by more than 1100 tonnes annually.
That will save 1260 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity – enough to power about 200 homes for a year.