The District of Columbia has entered a long-term public-private partnership (P3) with the Plenary Infrastructure DC (PIDC) consortium for what is considered to be the nation's largest urban streetlight modernization project.
For decades, streetlights throughout Washington, D.C., have used a variety of inefficient bulb technologies, including incandescent and high-pressure sodium. The District of Columbia also has long relied on residents calling 311 to report streetlight outages.
The $309 million DC Smart Street Lighting Project will modernize more than 75,000 lights throughout the district, converting the city's street and alley lights to energy-efficient LED technology with remote monitoring and control capabilities. This modern infrastructure will reduce the lights' energy usage by more than 50 percent, eliminate 38,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year and extend Wi-Fi coverage in traditionally underserved neighborhoods.
The project will also install
