{"id":6085,"date":"2022-11-21T09:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T14:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/?p=6085"},"modified":"2022-11-21T08:28:48","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T13:28:48","slug":"maryland-energy-administration-accelerates-the-upgrade-of-outdoor-lighting-to-clean-and-efficient-led-technology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/2022\/11\/21\/maryland-energy-administration-accelerates-the-upgrade-of-outdoor-lighting-to-clean-and-efficient-led-technology\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Maryland Energy Administration Accelerates the Upgrade of Outdoor Lighting to Clean and Efficient LED Technology<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n<p>Contact:\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jahmai.sharp-moore@maryland.gov\">Jahmai Sharp-Moore<\/a>\u00a0| 443-694-3651<\/p>\n<p><b>Baltimore, MD<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced the second year of the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/energy.maryland.gov\/Pages\/SOLE.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency (SOLE)<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> grant program. With the focus on the installation of light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures on existing, outdoor, pole-mounted, user-owned lighting fixtures, the SOLE grant program serves state and local governments, public and private schools, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations. The fixtures eligible for MEA grant funds include those that illuminate streets, parking lots, pedestrian paths, and athletic fields. <\/span><b>Overall FY23 LED streetlight program funding is set at $1.8 million.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The SOLE program is derived from a successful FY22 pilot effort that engaged 11 grantees, including the City of Rockville and Howard County and Baltimore City public schools. The program concept was in response to widespread community interest in upgrading outdoor lighting with more energy efficient and modern fixtures. Street lighting can represent as much as 40% of a municipality\u2019s annual electric bill. LED technology reduces this expense by using 50-70% less electricity to achieve lighting levels comparable to those provided by older, less efficient light fixtures. MEA\u2019s program encourages innovations such as advanced lighting controls and the use of solar power.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cCountless communities are eager to adopt clean, efficient energy technologies \u2013 especially if these innovations reduce operating expenses,\u201d said Dr. Mary Beth Tung, Director of the Maryland Energy Administration. \u201cOutdoor lighting upgrades provide one the quickest, most impactful energy-saving initiatives. The Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency program accelerates the installation of LED light fixtures that produces cost savings.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Added benefits include reduced maintenance costs and improved public safety thanks to improved lighting quality. These features can benefit communities and cities across the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eligible applicants are encouraged to visit the program <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/energy.maryland.gov\/Pages\/SOLE.aspx\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">website<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to learn more and apply for grants.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">-###-\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:\u00a0Jahmai Sharp-Moore\u00a0| 443-694-3651 Baltimore, MD\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) announced the second year of the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Streetlight and Outdoor Lighting Efficiency (SOLE) grant program. With the focus on the installation of light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures on existing, outdoor, pole-mounted, user-owned lighting fixtures, the SOLE<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/2022\/11\/21\/maryland-energy-administration-accelerates-the-upgrade-of-outdoor-lighting-to-clean-and-efficient-led-technology\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;&#8230;Learn more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[25,10,4],"tags":[24,5,117,17,323,102],"class_list":["post-6085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main","category-news","category-press-releases","tag-clean","tag-energy","tag-energy-efficiency","tag-grants","tag-leds","tag-streetlight"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6085"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6086,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6085\/revisions\/6086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}