The United States requires the transformation of 1.5 million LED street lights. The reason for the increase in the target is based on the goals set by the states and cities in the United States.
At the beginning of the plan, only five cities participated, including Detroit, Little Rock (the capital of the U.S. state of Arkansas), West Palm Beach (the U.S. vacation destination), Huntington Beach (the U.S. city name), and Kansas City. The White House statement just released said, participation has expanded to 10 cities and two states -- Tennessee and Rhode Island.
The DOE will help those participating locations select solid-state lighting (SSL) to meet local needs. The program will focus on connected lighting, and the U.S. Department of Energy will also assist participating parties in finding funding for LED streetlight retrofit projects. There are other agencies that will be involved in the project, the White House specifically designated the Central American Regional Council, the Southern California Regional Energy Grid, and the Southeast Michigan Office of Energy.
The announcement was met with an immediate response from the SSL industry, as Hugh Martin, chairman, and CEO of Sensity Systems, which focuses on smart street lighting networks, said: "We are delighted that the President is accelerating the progress of LED lighting in cities, and the government knows, this program will bring additional benefits to U.S. citizens far beyond energy savings and maintenance costs." Of course, the U.S. Department of Energy is also involved in promoting the popularization and application of energy-efficient SSL products and released LEDs last July. Outdoor lighting reports that performance has improved significantly.
