An outdoor LED lighting project was recently started in Kolkata with the help of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC), The Climate Group, an international NGO, and HSBC, in an effort to cut emissions. The project, which was first announced in April 2010, will help the KMC understand the practical ways it could make substantial cuts in urban emissions and save on energy related costs from street lighting, over the next few years.
The project will be carried out by KMC in collaboration with the Government of India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (WBSEDCL), and the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), with overall facilitation by The Climate Group. The project cost will be equally shared between BEE and KMC. The information available from the project will also be used in a new global LED report that will compare results from The Climate Group’s other global pilot trials, and assess the potential energy savings and greenhouse gas reductions in each city.