Costa Almeria council seeking subsidies for energy efficient Vera street light initiatives

VERA council members have voted unanimously in favour of requesting different lines of assistance and subsidies for improving the energy efficiency of municipal exterior lighting.
The local authority said the aim is to gain the necessary financing to carry out projects which will reduce CO2 emissions through the implementation of energy saving measures and which will contribute to the development of the local economy and reduce carbon emissions.
All the measures which the council plans to carry out are financed 80 per cent by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund and come under the call for the presentation of low-carbon economy projects from the Ecological Transition Ministry’s IDEA Institute for Energy Diversification and Savings.
The idea is to award direct subsidies to local entities for projects as set out in the EU’s European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020 sustainable growth framework.
Vera anticipates the total cost of the municipal projects is nearly €3.9 million. The Diputacion de Almeria is participating on one of the projects.
The council explained the first step was to approve what is actually to be carried out. Measures include replacing existing lights with LED technology, the replacement of damaged supports and posts, adapting lighting panels and installing centralised remote management systems.
The council pointed out these kinds of measures are the sort of actions set out in so-called SmartCity or Intelligent City strategies, which as well as cutting energy consumption also improve visual quality and road safety.
The local authority put the resulting saving on the municipal electricity bills at more than €250,000 a year. There will be further savings on maintenance and repairing breakdowns as the installations are designed with a 10-year guarantee, the administration said.
“The council aim is to replace 100 per cent of the public lighting installations so that Vera residents benefit from more modern and safer illumination on their streets”, commented Deputy Mayor Alfonso Garcia.
The Deputy Mayor also made point of thanking the provincial administration “for the support and for the great involvement it is going to have in these projects, which undoubtedly demonstrate the clear commitment of the president Javier Javier Aureliano to building a more competitive Almeria involving all the province’s municipalities.”