In October of 2015 the City of Albuquerque in New Mexico, U.S., through the Department of Municipal Development and Department of Accounting and Financial Services/ Purchasing Division, released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the evaluation and implementation of energy efficiency and reduced maintenance project for city owned street lighting. After much review of all proposals received, Citelum Group was selected as the winning bidder. As part of their contract, Citelum will evaluate and develop a plan to convert approximately 19,000 city-owned street lights to LED.

“By converting streetlights to LED light fixtures, the City of Albuquerque will be able to save millions of dollars annually on energy and maintenance costs,” said Mayor Richard J. Berry. “Moving forward with the conversion to LED street lighting, is another example of how the City of Albuquerque is one of the leaders in adopting advanced technology.”

A LED streetlight near a church in City of Albuquerque lit up with RGB lights. (All photos courtesy of Citelum)

Currently, the City of Albuquerque pays a flat rate for energy usage. By converting to LED street lighting, a shift toward volumetric billing will be possible allowing the city to pay on true usage. Lighting levels and usage can also be adjusted with LED technology. The ability to provide a brighter light in high traffic areas and reduce our light pollution in others is another benefit of transitioning.

Life expectancy of LED lighting far exceeds that of our current street lights. The ability to monitor real time data will allow for faster repair times and also exact location targeting, which will eliminate the time spent searching for non-operational street lights, reducing our carbon footprint.

Statues in the middle of a pedestrian path in the center of a busy road in City of Albuquerque lit up with special blue lights.

Citelum will provide global lighting expertise and industry best practices, in coordination with our local knowledge to ensure that the City of Albuquerque will receive the most reliable and efficient LED and smart control upgrade as possible. By selecting Citelum, Albuquerque has partnered with a company trusted by other major cities such as Copenhagen and Paris. To date, Citelum has more that 2.5 million streetlights under their management. 

“Citelum is pleased to partner with the City of Albuquerque to increase energy efficiency and reimagine its nighttime identity, honoring Albuquerque’s heritage while highlighting it as a vibrant, modern City, “ said Ricard Ivern, CEO Citelum North America. “We applaud the City’s innovative approach and we look forward to applying our urban lighting solutions and creating valuable economic development opportunities for Albuquerque’s future.”

Streets in City of Albuquerque in New Mexico lit up with LED streetlights.

The project has been broken up into a four phase process, from beginning to end, with an estimated timeframe of approximately 2 years.

Phase I – Preliminary Audit Plan

Phase II – Audit

Phase III – Conversion Plan

Phase IV – LED Conversion

The City of Albuquerque currently budgets approximately US $5.5 million per year for street electricity. The plan to evaluate and implement energy efficient lighting has the potential cost in the millions per year.  Phase I will cost approximately $75,000 to conduct.

Roads illuminated with LED streetilghts installed by Citelum inthe City of Albuquerque.