LED Highway Lighting Retrofit Awarded

The province will soon be conserving more energy, saving money and reducing greenhouse gas by using LED lights to illuminate roads.

The province has awarded Black and McDonald Limited a $3,199,500 contract to convert another 2,500 high pressure sodium (HPS) lights throughout the province to light-emitting diode (LED) lights.

Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Bill Estabrooks announced the funding today, Feb. 18, in Amherst.

"With this substantial investment, we are moving to a more sustainable way of lighting our highways," said Mr. Estabrooks. "As one of the first provinces to undertake such a large scale conversion of highway lights, Nova Scotia is a leader when it comes to using green technology and supporting local innovative companies."

"Black and McDonald is very proud to be an integral part of this project, and appreciates the opportunity to participate in the province's ongoing efforts to reduce operating costs," said division manager, Donald Hiltz.

"The ability to use locally manufactured lighting products provides additional benefits to many Nova Scotia workers and their families and the goals of this project align with our corporate environmental initiatives and philosophy."

The LED fixtures will be manufactured and supplied by Amherst-based LED Roadway Lighting Limited.

"The fixtures supplied by LED Roadway Lighting (LRL) will deliver substantial energy savings and significantly reduce maintenance costs, as well as provide improved illumination on highways," said company CEO, Chuck Cartmill.

"Clients worldwide are embracing our robust technology. At present, LRL has more than 250 municipal and utility installations in 10 countries. This project will be a great showcase for our technology to the global audience and other departments of highways."

LEDs offer a number of advantages over HPS lights including lower energy use, lower maintenance requirements and a longer lifespan.

They also further protect the environment by being mercury and lead-free and reducing light pollution.