NYPA Partners with City of Albany to Install More than 10,800 LED Streetlights Throughout the City

Governor Cuomo’s Smart Street Lighting NY Program Calls for 500,000 Street Lights to Be Converted to LED Technology by 2025

For Immediate Release: 06/26/19

NYPA Contact: Paul DeMichele | paul.demichele@nypa.gov | (914) 390-8186

City of Albany Contact: Brian Shea  |  bshea@albanyny.gov  |  (518) 434-5100

ALBANY—The New York Power Authority and the City of Albany today announced the start of installation of energy-efficient LED streetlights throughout the city as part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Street Lighting NY program. The energy efficiency project will save the city more than $3.3 million annually and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 2,850 metric tons a year—the equivalent of taking approximately 600 cars off the road. Smart Street Lighting NY is a statewide program that calls for at least 500,000 streetlights throughout the state to be replaced with LED technology by 2025.

• View: Video of the Installation of the Street Lighting
  

The $20 million upgrade, financed and implemented by NYPA, includes the replacement of more than 10,800 streetlights throughout the city with energy-saving LED fixtures. NYPA is also providing Albany with $850,000 in funding support for the project.
The city will benefit from a new asset management system to monitor and control the entire streetlight system, providing localized dimming options and outage reporting. The new fixtures will also act as a power source, creating individual hubs for future SMART technology additions, including expanded access to Wi-Fi and additional tools for emergency services.

“Our nation is at a critical crossroads in terms of energy usage, and New York is aggressively working to address this challenge,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “The LED streetlight conversions occurring in municipalities across the state are a true testament to New York’s leadership in advancing technology, increasing efficiency, and reducing our carbon footprint.”

“Streetlights account for a significant percentage of a municipality’s electricity consumption and installing energy-efficient LEDs is a common-sense way to simultaneously reduce costs, protect the environment, and improve safety,” said Gil Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “The new LED lighting fixtures can also act as future hubs for additions such as intelligent sensors and small-cell antennas for Wi-Fi and 5G infrastructure. This is a transformative project for Albany that lays the groundwork for future modernization and we thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership in building a cleaner, greener New York.”

“This comprehensive city-wide streetlight LED conversion will significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and ultimately save Albany taxpayers $3 million annually,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “It will also greatly enhance our ability to brighten corridors across the City and eliminate environmental factors that criminals exploit. I sincerely thank Governor Cuomo for his continued partnership that has been critical to making this innovative project possible, and to NYPA for their financial and operational assistance.”

The streetlight conversion is made possible by the sale of the streetlights from National Grid to the City of Albany earlier this month and was approved by the Public Service Commission earlier this year as part of its continuing work to reduce municipal energy consumption across the state.

NYPA is working with cities, towns, villages and counties throughout New York to fully manage and implement a customer’s transition to LED streetlight technology. NYPA provides upfront financing for the project, with payments to NYPA made in the years following from the cost-savings created by the reduced energy use of the LED streetlights, which are 50 to 65 percent more efficient than alternative street lighting options.

Through this statewide street lighting program, NYPA’s government customers are provided a wide-array of lighting options to help meet their individual needs, including specifications on the lights to incorporate SMART technology, which can be used for dozens of other functions, such as cameras and other safety features, weather sensors, Wi-Fi and energy meters.

To further advance the Governor’s effort to replace existing New York street lighting, last week, NYPA announced the issuance of a RFP for multiple contractors to provide routine and on-call maintenance services for LED street lighting fixtures installed by NYPA throughout the state. The new service program will be available to municipalities that have engaged NYPA to implement a LED street lighting conversion and have elected to install an asset management controls system on their street lighting system, reducing the number of failures and repairs needed after the installation is complete.

NYPA has installed—or is in the process of installing—more than 128,000 LED streetlights at municipalities across the state. To learn more about the Smart Street Lighting NY program, visit the program webpage on NYPA’s website.

Today's announcement bolsters the Governor's comprehensive agenda to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and growing the clean energy economy. The passage of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act creates the most aggressive climate change program in the nation with goals to: reach zero carbon emissions in the electricity sector by 2040; install nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035; six gigawatts of solar by 2025; three gigawatts of energy storage by 2030; and it directs state entities to work toward a goal of investing 40 percent of clean energy and energy efficiency resources to benefit disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the law creates the Climate Action Council comprised of the leaders of various state agencies and authorities as well as legislative appointments to develop a plan outlining how the state will achieve an 85 percent reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels by 2050, and eventually net zero emissions in all sectors of the economy.

About NYPA:

NYPA is the nation's largest state public power organization, through the operation of its 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. For more information visit www.nypa.gov and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.