- With the adoption of the material balance, 70% of the materials used fort he upgrading of the entire city’s lightig network are recycled, totaling over 14 quintals in weight.
- Over the course of 9 years, 130.54 MWh per year will be saved, equivakent to the average annual consumption of approximately 50 households and 33.4 tons of CO2.
- Upgrading public assets serves as a booster to promote sustainability and efficient resource usage.
San Pier d’Isonzo (GO), April 3, 2024 – In San Pier d’Isonzo the public lighting system is entirely circular. Thanks to the cutting-edge project by City Green Light, an ESCo active in promoting tools for energy efficiency, the Friulan municipality is among the first to achieve this significant result.
The intervention, carried out as part of the Servizio Luce 4 Consip, involved the entire public lighting network, from electrical components (wires and panels; lighting fixtures and control systems) to infrastructural ones (power cables; transfromer cabins; manholes and ducts) and was realized using over 70% recycled materials, amounting to nearly one and a half tons.
This percentage rises to 90% when only the replaced lighting fixtures are analyzed (for a total of 407 energy-efficient lighting points out of 543 in total),significantly exceeding the minimum environmental criteria (CAM) imposed by the government and in compliance with the UNI EN ISO 14021:2021 standard.
A step forward towards the circular economy
The refurbishment work, which has just been completed, was initiated in December 2023 and falls under a 9 year contract, which also incudes the management, maintennace and optimization of public lighting system, as well as the supply of electricity sourced 100% from renewable sources.
The initial results are more than encouraging: regarding consumption, the replacement of old lighting fixtures has led to an energy saving of over 60%, decreasing from 189.82 MWh per year pre-refurbishment to 59.28 MWh per year post refurbishment.
It is estimated that, by the end of City Green Light’s mandate, the energy saving achieved by the municipality will be 130.54 MWh per year, equivalent to the average annual consumption of approximately 50 families; while in terms of CO2 emissions, a reduction of 33.4 tons is expected.
Tangible results for the Municipality and Citizens
The keystone of the project was the adoption of the material balance, an innovative methodology that allows quantifying the resources used and returned during the entire lifecycle of a service. For this purpose, City Green Light, in collaboration with Neutralia, developed an internal technical-procedural specification to ensure a systematic approach (in compliance with international standards) in managing and monitoring the content of recycled materials in the products used. A “roadmap” that was adhered to in all phases of the intervention, as certified by DNV Business Assurance Italy S.r.l., qualifying this pilot project as an important case history. This demonstrates how the refurbishments of public assets represents an opportunity to promote environmental sustainability and resource effciency, following the principles of the circular economy, leading to concrete and measurables results.
In addition to reducing consumption, the more effcient use of light also results in a reduction of light pollution and, at the same time, an improvement in visual comfort. This leads to safer and more vibrant streets, even at night, benefiting residents ad tourists, especially foreigners, who see the open-air enjoyment of city life as one of the characteristics features of the Italian lifestyle.
