The City of Portland announced Thursday that its largest-ever energy-efficiency project is close to halfway finished.
Worker for Christiansen Electric, replaces regular streetlight bulb with new LED bulb.
Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB
The project is to change 45,000 Portland street light bulbs to LEDs — or light emitting diodes.
The city has been working on the project since last year, and is already saving about $100,000 a month in electricity costs, according to city officials.
Peter Koonce with the Portland Bureau of Transportation said the old bulbs had to be replaced every five years, whereas the new lights last 20 years.
Koonce said they’ve had many compliments from residents. But they've also logged a few complaints that the new lights are too bright and different from the old bulbs.
"It is a different light. It mimics moonlight though. The moonlight is a really nice light and it also helps pick-up people who are walking and people that are biking," Koonce said. "So from a safety standpoint, that’s also very important to us.”
The project is expected to cost about $18 million dollars when it's finished, but the city said that the savings should pay for it after eight years.