Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S., has joined the LED City Program, a worldwide joint effort initiated by Cree, a leader in the LED industry, to promote and deploy energy-efficient LED lighting all over the world.

In the 12-month pilot program, Chapel Hill has installed LED streetlights along the high-profile 100 block of Franklin Street, one of the town's most recognizable landmarks. Ten high-pressure sodium streetlights have been replaced with LED street lighting to reduce energy consumption by 50 percent or more. The town is soliciting feedback from residents about the quality of the lighting during the course.

Using LEDs for energy-efficient lighting is just one of the many steps Chapel Hill is taking in order to become a more environmentally-friendly community. The town has set an aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent below 2005 levels, by 2050. To support this objective, Chapel Hill is acting on a comprehensive plan that includes policies to promote compact, mixed-use development; alternative transportation; greenway developments and environmental protection. Other sustainable practices establish that all new town-owned facilities be built using sustainable practices as set by the LEED Silver certification program.

Chapel Hill has joined other progressive LED Cities to evaluate and deploy LED lighting, the cities including: Raleigh, N.C.; Anchorage; Austin; Indian Wells, Calif.; Welland, Ontario; Tianjin, China; and Toronto. Additional information about the LED City program can be found at www.ledcity.org.

About LED City

The LED City is an expanding community of government and industry parties working to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting technology across the full range of municipal infrastructure to:

* Save energy * Protect the environment * Reduce maintenance costs * Provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 22 percent of electricity used in the U.S. powers lighting. In a world with soaring energy prices based on the availability and control of fossil fuels, and with growing concern about sustainability of the environment, a revolution in lighting is long overdue.