Northern Virginia’s Energy Transformation Path and the Case of LED Streetlight Conversion
Over the last decade, the Northern Virginia region has ascended from climate and energy laggard to national leader. A critical element of this transformation has been programs like those to replace high-energy consuming conventional streetlights with light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
The story of Northern Virginia’s LED transition started in 2017, and the need to replace energy-inefficient, high-pressure sodium and mercury vapor light bulbs with LEDs. NVRC coordinated the convening of local governmental energy technical and policy staff, officials from Dominion Energy and the Virginia Energy Purchasing Governmental Association (VEPGA) to revise the tariffs covering utility-owned and operated streetlights in the region. Over an approximately six-month period, these partners helped revise tariffs that led to an accelerated replacement of conventional luminaires with LED lighting. The process included an agreement to revise distribution charges per fixture based on schedules and wattage ranges for LED streetlight replacement.
These revisions set the stage for a second and more accelerated transition process. Between 2020 and the present, NVRC partnered with a consortium of technical consultants (namely Clean Energy Solutions) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments through a U.S. Department of Energy grant from the Maryland Energy Agency. The partnership promoted analysis, education, outreach and technical assistance to localities in region seeking to better understand the benefits of LED conversion – specifically the return on investment, energy savings and collateral environmental benefits such as C02 emissions reductions. NVRC supported the technical staff from Clean Energy Solutions with the provision of no-cost technical assistance services that looked at the feasibility and benefits of LED conversions and possible major financing options such as energy performance contracting (EPC), utility incentives, and utility bill repayments.
The work of this partnership has produced impressive returns profiled in the table below. The data was solicited and collected from the participating local governments.
The City of Fairfax anticipates beginning the replacement of 2,504 street lights this year. In total it will save more than 1.3 million kWh annually and reduce CO2 emissions by 970 metric tons on an annual basis. Projected return on investment is 4 years or less.
About the Northern Virginia Regional Commission
NVRC is a consortium of thirteen local governments representing more than 2.5 million residents. The region has a GDP of $251 Billion which is 41.4% of the GDP of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Northern Virginia’s GDP is larger than 26 states and if a country would be the 46th largest economy in the world.