£8 million investment in street lighting programme to deliver energy savings & environmental boost

Minister for Infrastructure Nichola Mallon is pictured on Castlereagh Road where she visited a recently completed street-lighting scheme.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has said an £8million investment this year to deliver a new LED street lighting programme will deliver future energy savings and is another step forward in delivering sustainable infrastructure across Northern Ireland.

£8m will be invested this financial year in new LED street lights across Northern Ireland. These lights, which have a predicted lifetime of approximately 25 years, are energy efficient and will contribute to the Minister’s green agenda.

Speaking on a site visit to East Belfast to see the completion of a recent scheme on the Castlereagh Road, Minister Mallon said:

“Investing in our street lighting programme is very important for me as street lights improve the safety of an area, help tackle anti-social behaviour and are crucial in ensuring those driving, cycling, wheeling and walking can do so safely after dark.

“Upgrading this infrastructure to LED is also much more energy efficient as well as being environmentally friendly. I am delighted that all of the energy used to power the street lights the Department is responsible for is now generated from 100% renewable sources. Up to 1 April 2021, approximately 112,000 new LED units have been installed, representing 39% of the Department’s total stock of 288,959 lights. This has resulted in a reduction in energy consumption of approximately 24%.

"This £8m investment that I am making will allow the replacement of approximately 30,000 sodium street lights this year with energy efficient LED units, which represents a further 10% of the lighting network and will deliver a further reduction in energy consumption of approximately 8%, bringing the current total of savings to over 30%.

"If anyone was in any doubt, the IPCC Report from the United Nations is a stark wakeup call on the need for urgent action across the board to tackle the climate crisis. This investment, alongside my Blue/Green Fund, is about helping us to become more sustainable and to lessen our impact on the environment. I am committed to doing what I can to protect our planet and to seize this crucial chance for change.”

Each of the Department’s Roads Divisions will spend £2m on street light replacement this financial year.