Outdoor Lighting: Mexico street lights, Roswell car park
A Mexican town plans to install 25,507 GE LED street lights while a Lexus auto dealer in Roswell, GA used SSL to achieve an 86.6% reduction in the energy required to light its parking lot.
The Mexican municipality of Othón P. Blanco in the state of Quintana Roo has announced plans to install 25,507 GE Evolve LED street lights in what it claims will be the largest installation of LED street lights in Latin America. In Roswell, Georgia, the Nalley Lexus auto dealership replaced 70 1000W metal-halide lamps with 161W LED bulbs from Qnuru achieving an 86.6% reduction in energy use with the solid-state-lighting （SSL） retrofit.
Quintana Roo Governor Félix González Canto announced the SSL street light project and a goal of saving 51% in energy usage. Canto linked the plan to the Mexican government’s Special 2009-2012 Climate Change Program. The street light retrofit will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions with the municipality claiming that the reduction is “the equivalent of taking the approximately 40,000 cars that operate throughout Othón Blanco off the roads in a 10-year period.”
The announcement was also made coincident with the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties （COP16） to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change （UNFCCC）。 “As many countries begin to move toward achieving their environmental goals, Mexico is establishing its leadership with concrete examples, such as transitioning to LED lighting in our cities,” said Governor González Canto. “All eyes are on Mexico as we host this important meeting on climate change, and we are pleased to support our country’s commitment to the world with actions that will have a long-term impact on the environment.”
The greenhouse emissions angle is particularly important in Mexico as the country’s economy would be adversely impacted by climate change. The 2009 annual report of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery （GFDRR） notes that 71% of the Mexican GDP is at risk from climate change.
“Governments have a responsibility to seek efficient solutions to meet our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals,” said Municipal President of Othón P. Blanco, Andrés F. Ruiz Morcillo. “It is our job at all levels of government to support the country’s growth and the well-being of our citizens. LEDs are the future of lighting solutions and Chetumal and its municipality are setting the standards for other cities in Latin America and the world to follow.”
GE’s authorized distributor Avances Lumínicos Plus S.A. de C.V. is handling financing, installation, and maintenance for the project having signed a 15-year concession agreement with the municipality. “We are very pleased with the opportunity to work with a trusted brand such as GE to bring our customers in Mexico the best in technology innovation,” said Salomon Marcovich, President and CEO, Avances Luminicos Plus.
Parking lot retrofit bulbs
