The second phase of the IDAE program is already 40% completed and has replaced 1,150 streetlights and luminaires

The second phase of the Energy Efficiency project, 50% co-financed with European funds, continues to be developed according to the established deadlines. So far, 1,150 luminaires have been replaced or renewed, which represents almost 40% of the total planned in this second phase.

The mayor Toni Pérez and the councilor for Urban Scene, José Ramón González de Zárate, last night visited Rincón de Loix, on Juan Fuster Zaragoza street, to verify the progress of the renovation work on the existing light points, confirming the “great improvement experienced” with the points that have already been replaced.

Pérez explained that in this second phase, "the luminaires in Subzone C have already been installed, which is already finished" and that action is also being taken in streets such as Esperanto, Ibiza, or Cuenca "until a total of 3,512 light points and 55 service centers command of this phase.

In Severo Ochoa, the mayor recalled that the installation of the luminaires has coincided with other actions such as the Interior Reform Plan (PRI) of Levante Hospital or the renovation of Severo Ochoa sidewalk from Benidorm Palace to Ametlla de Mar.

This section is where the improvements offered by the winning bidder are carried out so that all the lampposts and luminaires are replaced to install new ones.

"We are pouring the rest in Rincón de Loix and especially in Severo Ochoa, which is the main entrance to the city through this area," said the mayor.

However, the mayor mentioned that "the only problems we find are related to the lack of supply, so as the material arrives, it is installed."

Benidorm City Council awarded the second phase of the Energy Efficiency Project for an amount of 2,527,730.45 euros, a phase that corresponds to the renewal of the lighting in Levante area and the intervention on 3,512 light points and 55 centers control, which means renewing 43.85% of the 7,660 light points that exist in the area. This will allow the installed power to be reduced from 759.59 kW to 195.01 kW.

The award, like the first phase, fell to the company Sociedad Ibérica de Construcciones Eléctricas S.A. (SICE), which also offered an economic reduction percentage of 43.4% and committed to the installation of a hundred hybrid photovoltaic lighting points.

The estimated energy saving "reaches up to 79%" and the luminaires "also have a remote management system to change the intensity and power of the lights when necessary".

Toni Pérez reiterated that the Energy Efficiency project "is very ambitious and will make Benidorm a more sustainable city and destination". In addition, he recalled that with it "we follow the 2030 Agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and working side by side with municipal technicians so that this important political vocation translates into realities for people in Benidorm."

He also insisted that long before the government implemented the energy-saving plan “we had already started this commitment to energy efficiency. Since 2015, we have implemented savings and renewal policies that have given us magnificent results, as demonstrated by the continuous reduction in energy and electricity costs in these years despite the brutal increase in cost”.

Project details

The global Energy Efficiency project, for the supply and installation of 'led' luminaires and their regulation and control, represents an investment of 6,014,578.57 euros. Just over 2 million were allocated to the first phase.

The investment is 50% financed by the City Council and by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), which granted Benidorm for the development of the project with 3,007,289.28 euros from European funds.

The project is operating in 7,808 light points of the 14,343 in the municipality, 54.44% of the municipal lighting, and will reach all neighborhoods. Throughout the project, work will be done on the first line of Levante and Poniente, in the Ensanche de Levante, Colonia Madrid, Casco Antiguo, Centro, Calvari, La Cala, Els Tolls, Rincón de Loix, the main accesses to the city, Salt de l'Aigua, Alfredo Corral, around Vía Parque, Finca Barrina, Mercasa, Guillermo Amor Ciudad Deportiva and Parque de l'Aigüera, among others.