Edinburgh's Multi Million Pound Investment in Street Lighting

Edinburgh Council will be spending £2.15 million, in order to upgrade 6,000 street lights across the city; this will primarily be from using PPL and LED, which will help improve long life and lower costs. The upgrade is a result of the Council’s White Pilot Project being successful; this is where 271 street lights were upgraded in 2 areas of Edinburgh. A survey conducted by the Council showed that 89% residents were satisfied with the lights and 83% thinking that the brightness was ‘just about right’.

Currently, the council has roughly 63,418 street lights, with a total of £2.97 million being spent a year on the cost of electricity consumption. The new proposed street lighting will help save the council up to £280,000 a year. This conversion will be funded through a loan from Salix, a Government energy projects funding provider. Plans to introduce the city with more white light technology could also see the installation of LED stair lights maintained by the Council in around 14,100 tenements across the capital. The upgrade would allow the council to save almost £1.25m in energy each year.

Councillor Jim Orr, who is Vice Convener of Transport and Environment said: “The trials of this technology were a huge success and residents told us they liked the crisper, brighter light and thought it was better than the old kind of street lights. We’re now looking at rolling white lighting across the city which will save millions in the long run as well as making Edinburgh look better. Obviously, these lights are also much more energy efficient which is all part of Edinburgh’s sustainability journey.”

A spokeswoman for the Council added: “This is an agreement in principal to roll out white light to other parts of the city but until such times as a detailed design is carried out - which is done on a street by street basis - we will not be in a position to procure lanterns.”