The City of Palo Alto had a streetlight pilot project last summer to evaluate different streetlighting technologies. Light Emitting Diode (LED) streetlights have been demonstrated to be up to 40% more energy efficient than High Pressure Sodium (HPS) streetlights. 

• The pilot was conducted as part of the Department of Energy Solid-State Lighting GATEWAY demonstration program.  The final report of the project can be found here.  
• Highlights from the report, with a nice summary of the project, are available from the California Institute for Local Government.
  
  The LED streetlights will have a whiter light compared with HPS street lights and will offer improved visibility for drivers,  pedestrians and  bicyclists. LED streetlights also have lower maintenance costs than HPS lights due to the longer lamp life.

The City is evaluating LED streetlights from different manufacturers that closely match the existing type of lighting fixture. Test fixtures have been installed on Ramona, Bryant, Forest, and Hamilton streets near City Hall and on the residential streets of Colorado Avenue, Louis Road and Amarillo Avenue. 

By early 2011, the City expects to install around 600 LED fixtures. This project is funded through a federal stimulus fund grant. The quarterly update on this project is available.

The City currently has 6,300 HPS streetlights. Assuming the pilot project finds continuing energy savings and subject to Council approval of the funding source, the Utilities Department will schedule replacements of all other HPS street lights in coming years.  Replacing these HPS streetlights with more energy efficient ones can potentially reduce around 600 metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year upon full rollout by about 2015, which is equivalent to taking 120 passenger vehicles off the road annually. GHG reduction associated with upgrading the streetlights will help the City meet its GHG reduction target by 2020.

The City welcomes feedback from the community on the test LED streetlights. Suggestions and comments can be submitted via email to LEDStreetlights@cityofpaloalto.org