Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has started testing energy-efficient LED street lights at four locations as part of its plan to retrofit 3,500 fixtures owned by the County of Kauai and the state of Hawaii. The newest LED lights use one-third
Kauai Island Utility Cooperative has started testing energy-efficient LED street lights at four locations as part of its plan to retrofit 3,500 fixtures owned by the County of Kauai and the state of Hawaii.
The newest LED lights use one-third the energy of traditional high-pressure sodium lights, potentially providing significant savings to government agencies. The county, which is KIUC’s largest customer, spends about $1 million a year on 2,900 street lights. The state has 582 lights on Kauai.
This is the first time in Hawaii that an island’s entire inventory of street lights will be switched to LEDs.
The project is a result of an agreement signed in 2013 by KIUC President and CEO David Bissell and Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. It commits the cooperative and local government to work together to reduce the island’s consumption of fossil fuel and lower the cost of energy for its residents.
LED lights are being tested at four sites: Hardy Street in Lihue, from the county complex to Wilcox Elementary School; Kaumualii Highway near the new Hokulei Village shopping center in Lihue; Kuhio Highway at Wailua Beach near the old Coco Palms hotel; and Haleilio Road in Wailua Houselots.
