The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians used its $96,800 in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) funding to cover a much-needed streetlight relamping initiative. Located in southwestern Oregon, the tribe has 160 decorative light poles installed across its lands. The EECBG funds helped replace the poles’ 150-watt high-pressure sodium lights with more energy-efficient 50-watt light-emitting diode (LED) lights.

Initially, Cow Creek had considered using its award to do a scoping process to determine the future needs of the tribe. However, rather than devote a large portion of its grant toward a scoping process that might have left the tribe with insufficient funds to implement the resulting recommendations, tribal officials opted to focus on immediate upgrades instead.

The need to replace the existing lights with a more efficient variety already had been identified, so directing the EECBG funds toward meeting that need proved to be the most effective option. The tribe’s previously established partnership with Visco, an Oregon-based manufacturer of ornamental outdoor lighting equipment, helped expedite installation of the new LED lights. After selecting the LEDs in June 2010, the lighting retrofit began in August and was completed in November.

Tribal electricians were hired to complete the 160 replacements. In order to install the LED lights, retrofits had to be made to the existing poles by Visco. Brian Boswell, tribal operations manager, explained that this collaboration was part of what made the overall project a success. He went on to say that having identified this need before receiving the grant and having calculated that this project would yield the biggest “bang for the buck” both allowed for quick implementation.
So far, the tribe reports an estimated energy savings of 193.2800 megawatts per year, which accounts for about $13,500 annually. To get a more accurate reading, tribal officials will continue to collect data over time and compare changes between seasons and from year to year.

As Cow Creek has demonstrated, streetlight retrofits represent a highly replicable and viable option for governments looking to reduce their energy use in a simple way. By upgrading to more energy-efficient lighting options, the tribe has achieved an immediate reduction in energy use that will continue to pay dividends through reduced energy costs over time.

Content for this blog post courtesy of Paula Klein, Tribal Regional Coordinator, ICF International.