To the Editor:
Drivers headed along Island roads this winter may notice the streetlights are giving us better illumination on dark nights. What they might not know is that the new high-efficiency lights reduce light pollution of the night sky, while also saving us money and reducing pollutants that cause climate change. These are benefits that flow through to everyone.
More than 1,000 streetlights were changed last year to light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) through the Cape Light Compact’s energy-efficiency program. The compact fully covered the cost of $364,712. As a result, Martha’s Vineyard towns will save an estimated $74,000 annually in maintenance and electricity charges. The lights will reduce the amount of electricity we use by 311,446 kilowatt-hours each year (about the same as 35 homes year-round). They will also offset carbon dioxide from New England generating plants by about 190 tons per year.
The project was the result of collaborative work by our departments of public works, boards of selectmen, and the Cape Light Compact and its consultants. It demonstrates the value of working together on issues that affect each of our towns. As we move into an era of highly fluctuating electric rates, local energy efficiency and renewable energy projects supported by the compact, as well as private projects, will prove vital to a secure, more cost-effective and sustainable future.
As much as demonstrating the value of cooperation and reducing burdens on our town budgets, a project like this lights the way for each of us. Through what are sometimes simple changes, we can reduce our own home or business electric use and capture savings. We urge anyone who is interested in controlling electric costs to contact the compact for a free energy assessment (800-797-6699). We can build that better future together.
Mike Hebert, Aquinnah; Tim Carroll, Chilmark; Paul Pimentel, Edgartown; Richard Toole, Oak Bluffs; Sue Hruby, West Tisbury
Cape Light Compact representatives