Streets in Tamil Nadu are set to glow with LED luminaires as part of a sustainable development programme.
Over 10 urban local bodies, including Tiruchi, Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tuticorin, Erode, Salem, Tirupur, Vellore, Madurai and Tirunelveli, will replace around 2 lakh 40W fluorescent tube lights with LED luminaires.
Through the initiative of the local bodies, there will be annual energy savings of around 26,280 MWh, amounting to €17 million (about Rs 144 crore) in 10 years, said an official of Belgian firm Schreder, which supplies LED luminaries.
Tamil Nadu’s Commissionerate of Municipal Administration is conducting an investment grade audit for existing energy systems in municipal street lighting.
This will be followed by installation, commissioning, operations and maintenance of energy-efficient lamps and luminaires. Schreder, as part of a consortium, has bagged a letter of intent for audit for the Coimbatore, Tuticorin and Thanjavur regions (for 78,500 LED luminaries), the official said.
The company has a production facility at Faridabad. The Brika and Skido brand luminaries have been co-developed by the group’s R&D centre along with the Indian engineering team to address the lighting needs of the Indian market, he said recently on the sidelines of a seminar.
The Chennai Corporation too plans to replace nearly 1.10 lakh high-intensity discharge luminaires with LED luminaires.
Around 60,000 have already been replaced. This will result in potential annual energy saving of around 13,800 MWh and savings of around €9 million in 10 years, said a Corporation official.
Schreder will supply nearly 13,300 Brika LED luminaries, the company official said. By using LED luminaries and smart control systems, there could be up to 85 per cent energy savings when compared with installations equipped with traditional light sources.
The Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency will harness renewable energy for lighting applications in areas without grid power.
It plans to install nearly 1 lakh LED street lights through solar power in 1,000 village panchayats over five years.
This project will cost nearly €5.8 million.
For 20,000 street lights, the annual energy savings will be around 2,800 MWh, the official said.
raja.simhan@thehindu.co.in