The DA run Drakenstein Municipality is retrofitting the street lights of 23 streets in Mbekweni, Paarl and Wellington with LED (light emitting diode) lights. This is all part of Drakenstein’s ongoing commitment to environmentally conscious and sustainable management practices and to provide Drakenstein’s communities with better and brighter lighting.
This project involves nearly 1 400 LED street light fittings, and is expected to result in an annual carbon emission reduction of just under half a ton, and a total annual energy cost saving of about R550 000 per year for Drakenstein Municipality. The municipality said this is a meaningful contribution to their climate change mitigation measures.
“The world is facing a climate crisis, and it is up to every person and institution to make whatever contribution they can to ameliorate the impact of climate change,” said Executive Mayor Conrad Poole. The Mayor added that by replacing HPS (high-pressure sodium) lamps with LED lamps, Drakenstein Municipality is taking one more step towards mitigating the climate crisis – by reducing its carbon emissions, its energy demand on the national grid, and its overall impact on the environment.
The municipality – recently voted the Greenest Municipality in the Western Cape for 2019 – began the project in July 2019, providing 144 employment opportunities to men and women. A total of 23 streets – 11 in Mbekweni, seven in Paarl and five in Wellington have been identified to benefit from this project.