Los Angeles launches solar streetlight initiative

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has launched a new streetlights initiative that will repair and replace up to 60,000 streetlights citywide over the next two years.

The programme, which harnesses new solar streetlight technology, aims to help bolster public safety, cut Los Angeles’ decade-long backlog of street light repairs, combat copper wire theft, and reduce LA’s energy consumption alongside helping to accelerate the City’s transition to 100 per cent clean energy by 2035.

Solar streetlights

Mayor Bass was joined by councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and other City leaders to sign Executive Directive 18 to launch the initiative between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL). It will identify and install up to 60,000 solar streetlights across the city over the next two years. It will also address the more than 32,000 street light service requests by either modernising these lights or repairing them. 

“These are the basics that shape how we feel about our city, and whether our city is safe,” said  Bass. “The street light backlog that piled up before I took office is unacceptable – we’re addressing it and making it safer for people to walk their dogs, come home from work, and park their cars at night. Instead of continuing to patch together antiquated street light technology, we’re using solar to make our lights more reliable, resistant to theft, and cleaner to operate.”

“We will continue working with our City partners to strengthen our infrastructure and deliver safer, more reliable lighting across our communities”

“Angelenos deserve safe streets that are reliably lit,” said Rodriguez. “This initiative takes meaningful action to fix thousands of our City’s broken lights and restore visibility where it’s been missing for far too long, while moving us toward more secure, solar-powered streetlights that are less vulnerable to theft. We will continue working with our City partners to strengthen our infrastructure and deliver safer, more reliable lighting across our communities.”

There are currently 32,000 streetlight service requests. Funding for streetlight infrastructure has remained unchanged since 1996, and there has been a 1,200 per cent increase in copper wire theft in the last 10 years. Repairs caused by copper wire theft can cost at least four times more than standard maintenance. LA operates more than 220,000 streetlights citywide – an estimated 60,000 are eligible to be converted to solar.