Town joins in studying use of LED streetlights

The town will join a request for proposals to study whether installing LED streetlights would save money.

The town will join the Mid-Hudson Street Lighting Consortium request for proposals to study whether installing LED streetlights would save money.

At a Town Board meeting Monday, Councilman Chauncey Walker said a request for proposals is to be issued Nov. 29 for contractors to estimate the cost of inventorying streetlights and updating the equipment. “There’s going to be about 20 municipalities, including us and the village,” he said. “We’re being asked to execute a municipal cooperation agreement.”

Other municipalities that have agreed to participate include the towns of Ulster, Red Hook, Esopus, and Rosendale, and the villages of Red Hook and Rhinebeck.

“It’s sort of a good-faith signal that we are interested, that we are planning to participate, and that anybody who’s dealing with us and helping us is not wasting their time,” Walker said.

Officials said there will be a Dec. 11 meeting for potential bidders, who are expected to provide prices for upgrades and maintenance.

Mid-Hudson Streetlight Consortium organizer Pat Courtney-Strong has previously noted that 48 municipalities have been involved in this effort or moved forward with other LED project as part of efforts to save an estimated 65 percent on electric costs for streetlights.

Information from the consortium reports municipalities could still save 40 to 50 percent by using utility-owned LED equipment.

“The project is expected to save Mid-Hudson communities more than $6 million in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 42,000 (metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions) over the next 15 years, if only 20 municipalities were to participate,” organizers wrote.