Brent Council save millions thanks to £6.5m LED streetlighting project supported by Salix
Brent Council save millions thanks to £6.5m LED streetlighting project supported by Salix
Over 65%[1] of councils across England, Scotland and Wales have recently declared a climate emergency, recognising the importance of driving and implementing change across the UK and jointly facing the challenge of delivering sustainable carbon reductions.
Due to their energy-efficient benefits and long lifespan, one technology that councils can implement to drive down their carbon footprint, drastically reduce energy bills and deliver a well-lit environment, is LED (light-emitting diode) street lighting.
Brent Council is an inspiring example of a public sector organisation leading the way in environmental sustainability. The Council declared a climate emergency in July 2019 and has undertaken a range of carbon reduction projects including investing in a major street lighting upgrade programme.
The Council replaced 21,000 streetlights across the town centre, main roads and residential streets with more modern, energy-efficient LEDs. A central management system (CMS) was also installed to remotely control the lighting and achieve further savings.
Brent Council was able to make the improvements by using over £4.9m of interest-free finance from Salix to part-fund the £6.5m project, which completed in March 2019.
Councillor Krupa Sheth, Cabinet Member for the Environment at Brent Council, said: “By 2030 we will have saved over £9 million by installing 21,000 LED streetlights in Brent, more than any other London borough. Our street lighting programme is an important part of our work to make Brent safer, cleaner and greener and I thank Salix for their hard work in making a brilliant success of this investment.”
Thanks to the upgrades, the Council will significantly reduce its carbon footprint by saving an estimated 3,800 tonnes of carbon and lower energy and maintenance bills by around £950,000 per annum*.
The new LED streetlights will reduce the amount of energy used by the council without compromising on light quality. The CMS will ensure lighting is effectively controlled, allowing lighting to be optimised when needed, resulting in further energy and maintenance savings.
Lindy Frey, Street Lighting Programme Manager at Salix Finance, said: “Salix is proud to have supported Brent Council with over £4.9m of interest-free finance towards their street lighting upgrade, enabling the council to accelerate the project while saving on interest costs from other forms of borrowing.
We have worked closely with the team over a number of years to deliver this successful programme, which is important for helping the council to reduce their carbon footprint and lower energy bills. Salix has also worked in partnership with Brent Council since 2007 to support energy-saving upgrades in their schools and corporate buildings.”
Salix currently has finance available for street lighting projects. Click here for more information or to speak to a member of the Salix team.
Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
[1] https://www.climateemergency.uk/blog/list-of-councils/
*Rising to £950,000 in 2020/21 due to increased energy costs.
