More than 2,500 interior building lights were upgraded with lower wattage fluorescent lamps in four buildings at the El Dorado County Government Center in Placerville, and at three county facilities in South Lake Tahoe.

The $729,734 for the project came form federal stimulus funds.

In addition, 77 parking lights and 165 High Pressure Sodium traffic signal safety lights were retrofitted to LED fixtures. The lighting upgrades consume less energy and require less maintenance compared to older lighting technologies.

The county also replaced 15 older motors for wastewater pumps at the Union Mine Waste Water Treatment Facility with energy efficient models and installed five new variable frequency drives. The new technology electronically controls and regulates the amount of power the wastewater pumps use.

Placerville received a separate grant of $55,226 to retrofit streetlights and parking lot lights to energy saving LEDs. Interior lights at the public safety buildings, town hall, and city hall were switched to 28 watt florescent bulbs and energy efficient ballasts.

The grant paid for the labor required to install the interior lights while the El Dorado Energy Watch program provided the lighting equipment. The grant paid for equipment and labor for the parking lot and streetlight retrofit.

El Dorado County and Placerville are expecting to save a combined 525,090 kilowatt hours annually.