Council’s bright vision will soon light up Palmerston substantially, following a competitive tendering process to award its ‘Pr6jects: Making the Switch’ contracts.

Smart controllers, LED lights and installation services worth $3 million will see new energy-efficient LED infrastructure rolled-out across the City starting this April. 

City of Palmerston Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell has confirmed over 4,700 street and public lights will be switched to smart and energy-efficient lights over the next 15 months, making Palmerston one of largest smart LED cities in Australia.  

“Our accelerated LED light replacement program will transform our City, having significant benefits for our community. The upgrade will improve lighting quality and reliability in residential streets, on our footpaths and in our parks, improving safety in Palmerston.

It’s also another step in Council’s commitment to create a more sustainable environment, with carbon emissions reduced by more than 64%, the equivalent of planting more than 500 hectares of Australian forest trees.

Savings from the new energy-efficient lighting will be worth an estimated $650,000 annually, compared to electricity and maintenance costs for the current lighting,” said Mayor Athina Pascoe-Bell. 

Northern Territory-based electrical specialist company ESPEC will install the City’s new lighting infrastructure, employing eleven local staff, with seven from the Palmerston area. Council continues to support local businesses and jobs with this transformative project.

“ESPEC is excited to work with the City of Palmerston on this major project. This project will support local businesses, staff retention and economic growth, and will result in a cleaner and greener future for the Palmerston community,” said ESPEC Director Callum Payne.

ESPEC, as part of the installation of new LED infrastructure, will also recycle and dispose of existing streets lights in an environmental appropriate manner to meet Council’s sustainability expectations for the works. ESPEC is a signatory for FluoroCycle and will recycle old lamps at accredited facilities. 

Telensa have been selected from a joint procurement process with neighboring Councils, Darwin and Litchfield, to provide smart lighting controllers. Ensuring a safer community, each light will come equipped with proactive automated fault detection and automated brightness management.

“Smart street lighting is having a transformative effect on the way towns and cities around the world view lighting, increasing efficiency, bringing savings and dynamic control. We are delighted to be working with the City of Palmerston to lay the foundations for a smart city future in the Northern Territory.” said Will Gibson, Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Telensa.

Council has selected a panel of three suppliers to provide the City with new LED public lights. LED luminaire supply will be provided by: 

• Light Source Solutions
• Orangetek
• Philips

All three companies are leaders in LED innovation and manufacture. The City’s new lights will not only meet current lighting demands but also the City’s Smart Cities vision for the future.  

Installation will begin in Palmerston’s older suburbs; Moulden, Driver, Gray, Woodroffe and Marlow Lagoon, and once completed will move to eastern suburbs.