By RINTOS MAIL rintos@thestar.com.my
PADAWAN Municipal Council (MPP) wants to light up streets in its area with a solar power.
Its chairman Lo Khere Chiang said if everything goes as planned, some of the streets might be lighted up by solar power next year. He said MPP had requested for funds from the Federal Government for the project.
“We foresee that there is going to be tremendous benefit gained by lighting streets and public areas with long lasting solar-powered lights. We hoped to implement this in stages, depending on our funds,” he told a press conference after MPP’s full council meeting yesterday.
Lo: ‘We foresee that there is going to be tremendous benefit gained by lighting the streets.’
He said the project would save taxpayers’ money while protecting the environment by reducing carbon emission. Lo said MPP spent about RM3mil a year in its street lighting bill.
He said solar street lights are less expensive to install because they are off the grid and no underground wiring or digging of trenches were needed.
He said intially the cost a solar panel per point or post was about RM20,000, but due to competition, it was much cheaper.
“If we tender it out, the price will be between RM5,000 and RM7,000 per point,” he said.
Lo said MPP was allocated RM100,000 per year to install street lights, and with more allocation for next year, they hoped to start with a street lighting system that works without any connection to the grid.
