Santa Fe plans to replace all city streetlights with energy-saving LED lights

The Santa Fe City Council is taking up a group of major public investments aimed at sustainability and reducing energy.

One of the projects would replace all city streetlights with energy-saving LED lights. The cost is set at $3.2 million, but savings from lower electric bills are expected to exceed the expense of installation.

In Tucson, about 23,000 streetlights were switched to LED starting in 2014. City government there worked with lighting experts and astronomers to reduce light pollution. The new lights were shielded to send light downward and were hooked up to a wireless network that allowed for dimming and data collection.