A project to replace thousands of streetlights with low-energy LEDs in the Scottish Borders has been expanded by a third and accelerated to complete two years ahead of schedule.
The scheme, originally set to upgrade 13,500 lights, has been expanded to 17,800 and has seen its completion date brought forward by two years to 2018.
The street lighting project, which started in 2014, will save Scottish Borders Council £100,000 a year in electricity costs by switching to LED alternatives. LED lights use half the electricity of conventional sodium lamps and have a service life of 20 years, compared to four years for traditional streetlights.
A Scottish Borders Council spokesperson said: “The LED lighting scheme has been so successful that it has been accelerated and extended from the original remit of 13,500 street lights being changed to LED by 2020 to 17,800 being changed by 2018.
“In addition, 1,200 signs and bollards will also be changed to energy efficient equivalents.
“The LED street lighting scheme is estimated to save Scottish Borders Council around £20million over the 20 year life span of the new LED lanterns.”
