Nova Scotia leads way with mandating LED street lights

Nova Scotia’s provincial government is going to make LED street lights mandatory on all roads in the province.  

Premier Darrell Dexter announced in April that the province will introduce the legislation, saying that it will save more than 30,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, thereby helping the province to meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets. The province says it is the first jurisdiction in North America to have exclusively LED street lighting.

There are 120,000 roadway lights in the province, of which 90% are owned by Nova Scotia Power, and 10% by the municipalities.

Some municipalities have been objecting to the proposal, saying it will be too costly. But the province argues that the LED lights will create energy savings of 50%, producing annual savings of about $18 million, and they will bring the benefit of reduced maintenance costs. Studies show the cost of converting to LED lighting is around $100 million. The municipalities and Nova Scotia Power will have five years to complete the conversion.

Already last year several municipalities, including the Halifax Regional Municipality and Amherst, began converting some of their street lights to LEDs. The mayor of Amherst said they expect to save $85,000 this year alone in energy and maintenance costs.