LED streetlights to make Freo shine brighter

More than 160 old streetlights in Fremantle are set to be replaced with modern, energy-efficient LED lights.

Fremantle Council has approved the allocation of $120,000 from a federal government Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Fund grant for the project.

Fremantle Deputy Mayor Andrew Sullivan said replacing the old metal halide streetlights with LEDs will help to reduce the City’s power bills, maintenance costs and carbon emissions.

“Even though they’re owned by Western Power, the City of Fremantle currently pays about $700,000 a year for the power and maintenance of our streetlights, so it’s a substantial cost for us and our ratepayers,” Cr Sullivan said.

“The LED streetlights use far less energy and last about five times longer than ordinary lights, so replacing these 160-odd metal halide lights with new LEDs will save us about $26,000 a year.

“And being more energy efficient means they’ll also save around 21 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year.

“The new lights will be brighter than the old ones, which will help to make the streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, but the light will be softer so people will still be able to sleep at night.

“As a One Planet council we’re committed to doing things more sustainably and reducing our impact on the environment, so we’re really pleased to be one of the first councils in Perth to see the large-scale replacement of our old streetlights with LEDs.

“It’s great that the federal government has shown the initiative to fund this project, and hopefully in the near future we’ll be able to work with Western Power to roll this out everywhere.”

The new streetlights will be installed by Western Power as part of its LED replacement program, with the project expected to be completed by the end of the year.

They’ll be installed in residential streets in the area around Frank Gibson Park, bounded by High Street, Carrington Street, Marmion Street and East Street, as well as the streets around Cantonment Hill and between Fremantle Park and Queen Victoria Street.

The City of Fremantle has previously installed its own LED streetlights in areas such as Fremantle’s famous Cappuccino Strip.  The City is using LEDs in all new projects including carparks and at sports grounds like Hilton Park, some of which are also solar powered.

Streetlights in Hilton are also set to be replaced with LEDs as part of the Hilton Underground Power project.