Town of Islip Announces Start of Energy-Efficient Street Light Upgrade Program

Town of Islip officials recently met with officials from the U.S. Department of Energy to review the Town's project to install over 8,000 fixtures across the town with stimulus funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Approximately $2.4 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant funding is being used to purchase and install the new induction light fixtures, which will save approximately 55 percent of the energy cost and consumption for each fixture.

A pilot program was commenced by the Town's Traffic Safety Division in 2008, which replaced 1,200 Mercury Vapor light fixtures with induction technology. The results of the pilot program were an 80 percent reduction in energy consumption and utility cost while providing comparable lighting. With these results in hand the Town made the decision to use the available stimulus funds to ramp up its schedule for street light upgrades as part of the continued effort to increase the Town's overall energy efficiency. The current project will replace High Pressure Sodium fixtures with the same induction technology with an anticipated reduction in energy consumption and utility cost in the range of 40 percent to 60 percent.

"Considering the success of the pilot program, I am pleased that we are able to further embrace induction technology here in Islip," stated Town of Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan.

"This is a tremendous project that not only reduces Town expenses but benefits the environment as well," stated Town of Islip Councilman John Edwards.

The Town's contractor, Welsbach of Long Island, has installed the first two dozen , which can be identified by their green casing. Additional fixtures are being delivered to the Town and will be installed over the next year.

In order to replace the town's remaining 20,000 streetlights with induction technology, the Town is working with the New York Power Authority on a program that will provide low-interest loans to cover the cost of the improvements, with the loans paid off with the energy cost savings to the Town. The NYPA project is scheduled to commence in early 2011.

For more information please contact either the Traffic Safety Division at 224-5535 or Councilman Edwards' office at 224-5559.