Fairhope, Ala. — The city will save about $12,000 a year and up to $100,000 during the life of new energy-efficient light fixtures that will replace existing technology at 33 traffic signals and caution lights throughout Fairhope, which will be funded by federal stimulus dollars.

“Last spring, we started getting information that the stimulus monies were coming out,” said Electric Superintendent Scott Sligh at Monday’s City Council meeting. “As we started looking through them, we found one particular grant that was administered through (the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs), where the goal of the grant was to improve energy efficiency in local governments. One of the things that was an eligible activity was changing out traffic lights, and I thought that would be a real good fit for us.”

Fairhope was one of five cities to receive federal stimulus grants to replace traffic lights and road lighting with equipment that is more energy-efficient, while others will improve traffic flows by synchronizing traffic signals. The grants are administered by ADECA from funds made available to the state by the U.S. Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and were announced Friday by Gov. Bob Riley.

“These upgrades will reduce operating costs, benefit motorists and decrease pollution,” said Riley in the news release. “Installing devices based on newer technology also will reduce maintenance costs for these communities.”

Fairhope received a $62,000 grant to purchase new light-emitting diode technology, better known as LED, which uses less energy than traditional incandescent lights and lasts longer because they do not have a filament that can burn out or break, according to an ADECA news release.

The other cities to receive federal stimulus fund grants included Phenix City ($50,000), Brundidge ($79,364), Hueytown ($91,000) and Eufaula ($20,455).

“The mayor really pushed us for opportunities to apply for stimulus monies, and Nancy Milford was a big help to us,” Sligh said. “She (told) us what kind of information she needed to put the this package together, and we submitted it, and luckily we got funded.”

Sligh said the city has 16 traffic signals and 17 caution-light intersections where existing fixtures will be replaced with LED lights.

“They are going to save us about 90 percent usage on the monthly bill that we pay,” he said. “That’s going to equate to about $12,000 a year just in energy costs. The maintenance costs of that, if you do some life cycle costing, (will be) that we’re going to save anywhere from $90,000 to $100,000 because the LED lights last approximately 10 times longer.”

The lights are also brighter and visibility of them will be better than existing lights, especially during early morning hours and late in the day, he said.

“We’re looking forward to starting (the project),” said Sligh, adding that he was not sure when the project would begin, but that it would depend on the next step of the grant process.

The $62,000 included a $10,000 matching fund, which will be provided in-house by the electric department, for a total project cost of $72,000, Sligh said.

“I would just say, ‘Well done,’ ” Council President Lonnie Mixon told Sligh after the council received the news and report about the grant at its Feb. 8 meeting.