Spearwood and Atwell in LED streetlight trial

The trial may help the City of Cockburn pave the way for reduced electricity costs and radically reduce CO2 emissions in the City’s fight against climate change.

The trial has been made possible with a $94,107 grant to the City under the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program COVID recovery stimulus package, together with funding from the City of Cockburn.

The three-month trial involves retrofitting 169 LED lights along portions of 55 streets in late November and December, with nearby residents asked to submit online feedback via the City’s Comment on Cockburn community engagement website until 31 March, 2021.

Western Power has been rolling out LED lights as the older mercury vapour/compact fluorescent luminaires fail, however this trial of LEDs will be the first proactive replacement ever conducted anywhere on the South West Interconnected System.

City of Cockburn Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Stuart Downing, said the City would use the new LED streetlight tariffs put in place by Western Power and Synergy to achieve a tariff reduction of about 50 per cent, or about $10,000, for specific lights involved in the trial.

“A business case is being prepared for Council to consider replacing all existing traditional streetlights with LEDs, which could reduce the City’s overall streetlight power bill by 50 per cent, and CO2 emissions by 50-60 per cent,” Mr Downing said.

“The City of Cockburn’s 2019-20 streetlight electricity bill from Synergy was $2.9m and these costs are passed on to ratepayers as part of their annual rates bill.”

City of Cockburn Sustainability Officer Jennifer Harrison said streetlights were the City’s single biggest consumer of electricity and the Council’s recently adopted Climate Change Strategy outlined corporate targets of net zero emissions and a transition to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030.

In Cockburn, 343 (2.4 per cent) of its 14,118 streetlights are LEDs, including those on Beeliar Drive between Spearwood Avenue and The Grange and on Farrington Road between Bibra Drive and the Freeway.

Western Power Smart Solutions Manager Chris Meneghello said the LED trial was part of Western Power’s drive to deliver smarter energy solutions for customers. 

“LED lights have a longer life, lower maintenance costs and the ability to switch on smart technology enabling faults to be detected and repaired more efficiently,” Mr Meneghello said.

“The lights in Cockburn’s trial will not be smart-enabled during this trial, but they can be in the future.

“We’re currently testing 100 smart-enabled LED streetlights in the City of Melville with great success, and hopefully can introduce this type of technology more broadly soon.”

Spearwood and Atwell streets have been chosen by Western Power for the trial as they are representative of the majority of streetlight conditions in Cockburn, which mainly comprises aboveground infrastructure with streetlights fixed to wooden or concrete poles, and freestanding metal pole streetlights in areas with underground power.

Residents on streets involved in the trial will provide feedback once they have experienced a change in the lighting and this will help inform the sustainability of retrofitting all Cockburn streetlights with new LEDs in the future, and across the south west grid.

The biggest change residents will observe is a more visible, direct light rather than a fading old yellow/white light, and less light spill and glare.

Atwell trial streets (parts of the following roads): Beenyup Road, Pindan Elbow, Avon Crescent, Lakehurst Way, Molloy Circuit, Jenniphur Court, Chivalry Way, Lyon Road, Congenial Loop, Balance Lane, Flourish Loop, Woodhead Way, Folland Parade, Nancarrow Way, Turnbull Close, St Claire Gardens, Freshwater Drive, Brenchley Drive, Mayhew Cross, Connolly Mews, Daley Court, Hedges Retreat, Haring Green, Dunnage Court, Kinship Way, Bartram Road & Bendee Drive.

Spearwood trial streets (parts of the following roads): Gerald Street, Macmorris Way, Glendower Way, Gurney Road, Blunt Place, Bushy Road, Bolingbroke Street, Sussex Street, Hotspur Road, Edeline Street, Zlinya Circle, Mell Road, Bosnich Way, Newton Street, Ionesco Street, Fallow Crescent, Garden Road, Trellis Place, Daffodil Road, Marvell Avenue, Skeahan Street, Poins Place, Vernon Place, Kent Street, Leaside Way, Gerovich Way, Chesterton Street and Malcolm Street.