Raleigh To Lead the Way With Low-Energy LED City Lights?

Very interesting [via Engadget, where you'll find a photo and a link to the original news item] —

While it's no secret that LEDs light up the night in a more efficient (albeit expensive) manner, few locales have given the idea of lighting up the town en masse with LEDs any serious consideration. In a feat that would surely oust Brussles' Dexia Tower in terms of magnitude, city officials in Raleigh, North Carolina are hoping to make the Capital City the "world's first LED city." Reportedly envisioned by the mayor, officials are teaming up with RTP-based Cree, Inc. in order to "save money and help the environment," and in a pilot program completed late last year, a LED-equipped parking deck purportedly burned "40-percent less energy" than those with "standard lighting systems." Additionally, the quality and brightness of the lighting was said to have improved, which paved the way for LEDs to hit up street lights, architectural and accent lighting, and pedestrian and walkway lights over the next 18 months. If things go as planned, the entire city will "convert permanently to LED lighting," hopefully saving around $80,000 a year in parking deck utility bills alone -- and hey, if nobody in charge can figure out how to use an extra 80 large per year, there's a few potholes craters on Hillsborough Street that could use some attention.