NEW light-emitting diode (LED) streetlights being rolled out across Lake Macquarie are expected to save hundreds of tonnes in carbon emissions each year.
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Lake Macquarie City Council and Ausgrid have so far installed 1400 LED streetlights across the city in a joint project.
Council said the emission reductions would be achieved because LED lights required five times less electricity than the traditional lights they had replaced.
Mayor Kay Fraser said 4800 streetlights in Lake Macquarie would eventually be replaced. More than 1400 have been upgraded since the rollout began in 2018.
"The new LED lights have a much slimmer profile, they're designed to last up to 20 years, and they require less maintenance than traditional streetlights," Cr Fraser said.
"Innovative projects like this help reduce our city's greenhouse gas emissions and move us towards achieving our environmental targets."
The rollout is part of a wider Ausgrid program in partnership with more than 30 local councils to replace 100,000 streetlights across the company's network.
Ausgrid chief operating officer Trevor Armstrong said the program was an important part of the network's commitment to delivering more sustainable energy.
"As a business we're proud to be collaborating with council to deliver a better outcome for our customers and ratepayers," Mr Armstrong said.
Once all 4800 local streetlights were replaced, council's carbon emissions were expected to drop by 1130 tonnes annually, the council said.
That will save 1260 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity - enough to power about 200 homes for a year, council said.
