Energy, Department of Commerce

N.C. Energy Office Communications Staff

The City of Kinston used a grant from the North Carolina Energy Office to replace 740 high-pressure sodium and mercury streetlights with LED streetlights. The city was able to install 65 more streetlights than expected because Stuart C. Irby Company of Rocky Mount, the project vendor, came in under budget.

All of the bulbs downtown were replaced, as were many on side roads, resulting in upgrades to more than half of the city’s light fixtures. These LEDs are more energy efficient and will save the Lenoir County city and its taxpayers $200,000 annually.

The city of 22,000 received a $500,000 grant to help with the replacement costs. Total project cost is $615,220. The grant came through the U.S. Department of Energy ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program using federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act money administered by the N.C. Department of Commerce’s N.C. Energy Office.

“The project’s greatest impact is in the savings,” said Sheri Ferguson, Information and Resources Specialist for Kinston. “It is a green initiative which I hope to pass down to our customers so they can save money as well. This project sets a great example and encourages people be more efficient in their own homes.”

The nearby town of La Grange saved $26,000 in six months after installing 345 LEDs.