Council leaders in Bath have agreed to give to the go ahead for some of the area's traditional streetlights to be changed to reactive LED lighting.
The authority gave the green light earlier this month and officials are hopeful that it will save the taxpayer as much as £200,000 a year.
This innovative project to reduce energy costs to the local taxpayer is making good progress as Bath & North East Somerset Council has reached the halfway mark in replacing a proportion of the lights.
When completed, as well as saving money for the taxpayer, carbon emissions will be reduced by nearly 800 tonnes a year, which is the equivalent of three per cent of the council's total carbon footprint.
During the selection process of sites where the LED lighting should be used, the council has identified a small number of highway locations that may not require lighting at all, the Bath Chronicle reports.
A six-month trial will take place experimenting without the LED lights at these locations, after which the council will consider whether road safety becomes a significant issue or not. If there are problems highlighted then they will be replaced by LED technology.
Cabinet member for transport at the council Roger Symonds said LED is a technology that helps to provide safer roads because they are much brighter and will also give Bath & North East Somerset Council the opportunity to save taxpayer money.
"The lighting uses extremely clever dimming technology to reduce lighting levels according to the amount of traffic using the road. It is a terrific example of the council improving a service to the public whilst saving money and it is also good for the environment. We are on-schedule to complete a full roll out of the LED lighting by spring 2013," he continued.
Sheffield recently became the first city in the UK to begin a city-wide LED switchover, with officials hoping that the number of road accidents will be reduced because of the new lighting.
