Ameresco completed an LED streetlighting and control project for the City of West Richland, Washington. The project team converted 1,097 high-pressure sodium (HPS) streetlights to energy efficient LED luminaires and installed a wireless monitoring and control system. The new LED streetlights are expected to reduce the system’s annual electricity consumption by 61 percent, saving the city about $67,000 in energy costs per year.
Under an agreement with the city’s electric utility, Benton Rural Electric Authority (BREA), the lighting control system will enable the city to implement dimming strategies projected to reduce energy use by an additional 10 to 20 percent.
The lighting control system will help to maximize savings through enhanced monitoring and control functions, and will enable the city to move from a flat utility rate to a consumption-based tariff, reducing the city’s average cost per kWh by more than 26 percent.
The cost of the project is budget-neutral to the city. Funding is partially provided through local grants, including an energy efficiency grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce of $281,937, and utility incentives from BREA totaling $195,000. The balance is financed for 12-years through the WA State Treasurer Local Option Capital Asset Lending program, and paid for through savings.
