An electrical mechanic for Swift & Staley Inc., the infrastructure contractor for EM’s Paducah Site, finishes the electrical tie to a newly installed streetlight.
An electrical mechanic for Swift & Staley Inc., the infrastructure contractor for EM’s Paducah Site, finishes the electrical tie to a newly installed streetlight.

PADUCAH, Ky. – Daily cost saving measures continue to provide EM’s Paducah Site with a brighter future.

Employees with Swift & Staley Inc. (SSI), the site’s infrastructure support services contractor, replaced 320 outdoor sodium street lighting fixtures with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting in 2021.

The site uses approximately 800 light fixtures to illuminate the area. The upgrades provide superior illumination to address safety concerns and save costs by reducing electric usage. The replacements will reduce the number of light bulbs replaced each year and decrease the amount of electricity used by approximately half. Old sodium lights needed replacing once a year on average, whereas LED lights are expected to have 10-plus years of service.

The next phase of the site lighting upgrade is planned for this year. It will consist of replacing another 128 fixtures, resulting in further efficiencies.

“DOE will be at this site remediating and removing structures for the foreseeable future,” EM Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office Manager Joel Bradburne said. “These lighting upgrades pay for themselves and allow those resources to be devoted to site remediation.”

Tammy Courtney, SSI vice president and project manager, noted the many benefits of LED lighting, including that it’s environmentally friendly.

“Not only does safely completing this project reduce costs, it also enhances the safety of our workforce with better lighting,” she said.