City street lights in the Jacksonville Area are set to become a bit brighter and more energy efficient this month.
Ameren Illinois announced today it is partnering with the City of Jacksonville to upgrade neighborhood streetlights to LED technology.
Jacksonville Mayor Andy Ezard says it will cover approximately 550 lights around the city.
“I know this has been on Ameren’s radar for a number of years. They have constantly come out with programs to help our citizens as far as upgrades and keeping the costs down, and new energy efficient programs and this one is a big one because it will replace about 550 existing streetlights with new LED streetlights which will be a significant savings to the city.”
The plan calls for 550 existing sodium vapor, mercury vapor and metal halide lights to be replaced with the LEDs aimed at making streets safer and saving the city on energy costs.
Mayor Ezard says it will save the City of Jacksonville approximately $100,000 annually.
“When you switch out to LED, their estimation is between 55 to 65% less energy with the new technology so on average I believe the city spends over $200,000 on streetlights, probably closer to a quarter of a million dollars a year on energy so this will take that down significantly.
Again I applaud Ameren looking out for us and upgrading our infrastructure and that’s due to their strong commitment to our community and good relations.”
Ameren says the LED fixtures have three times the life expectancy of the traditional streetlight. The LED lights also are said to improve nighttime visibility while producing a cooler white light Ameren says is similar to moonlight.
The vendor contractor Pro Electric has been hired by Ameren to perform the upgrades. Ameren says the project will begin this week, and is expected to be completed by the end of September.