Councillor’s bright idea from Copenhagen green lighting set to cost City $7.5m

Andrew Mathieson
A TRIP to November’s Copenhagen climate change summit has sparked bright ideas for Geelong’s council to install more than 16,000 new street lights.
But the latest green campaign will come at a cost of $7.5 million to switch existing old-style mercury vapour lights to the energy-efficient lights.
City Hall is lobbying State Government and power companies to help fund the changes, while ratepayers could pick up the rest of the bill.
Geelong council’s environmental and sustainability portfolio-holder, John Doull, said the new lights were on display during a Light Green exhibition at the Copenhagen conference.
Councillors sent Cr Doull on a 16-day trip costing almost $7000 to help ensure local governments were “recognised” in any new UN climate agreement for coordinated international action on climate change.
The conference ended without a binding agreement.
Cr Doull said the latest “tea” lights were “more common” among several European communities.
“They are well-advanced and have been using tea-type lighting for quite a long time,” he said.
Cr Doull expected council to phase in the new lighting over several years because the “cost to change so many lights is significant”.
But he said Frankston’s council had already borrowed at least $5 million in its budget to replace lights with new tealights.
Cr Doull said his ward, which included Drysdale, Clifton Springs and Portarlington, would be the first area to trial the new lights.
The fluorescent lights were brighter, improving public safety at night despite using much less energy, he said.
Cr Doull labelled lighting as one of City’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
Geelong’s council lighting currently operates 80-watt bulbs, which accounts for 30 to 50 per cent of council’s “carbon footprint”, he said.
“Whilst the street lighting is a very necessary part of the community’s infrastructure, it is power intensive.”
Cr Doull said the City had estimated energy-efficient lights could reduce council’s power bills as much as 60 per cent, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.