On October 20, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), in cooperation with the Greater Washington Board of Trade (BOT), hosted a Street Light Technology Vendors Forum at the Marriott at Metro Center in downtown Washington.
George Nichols speaks to attendees at the Forum.
The objective of the forum was to expose regional officials and leaders to new, state-of-the-art street lighting technology. “Energy efficient street lighting technology, such as the light-emitting diode (LED), is viewed as a critical element of the climate change strategy currently being implemented by local governments in the Metropolitan Washington region,” said George Nichols, Principal Environmental Planner at COG.
Robert Grow speaks to attendees at the Forum.
In addition to street lighting’s role in helping fight climate change, Robert T. Grow, Senior Director of Regional Government Relations at the BOT, noted the economic benefits of adopting new technology. “The forum provided an important opportunity for elected and appointed officials, public utilities, vendors of energy efficient streetlights, and the business community to take another step forward in saving taxpayer dollars and in meeting shared regional environmental goals by employing today's energy saving technologies,” said Grow. “We look forward to next steps resulting in a regional street lights demonstration project providing greater energy efficiencies.”
Chris Stockton, a National Sales Manager for General Electric, discussed the issue’s immediacy. “LED street light technology is ready. Cities looking to reduce energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, operating costs, and lighting pollution, while increasing night time security, and elegant, evenly distributed, lighting have an opportunity to make a difference tomorrow.”
In addition to General Electric, ten other vendors participated in the forum, including Beta LED, LED Roadway Lighting, Amplex, Philips LUMEC, Spring City, Crystal light Corporation, Sternberg Lighting, Philips Hadco, Roam, Holophane, and Luma.
A display of street lights at the Forum.