Case Study: City of Chicago achieves 50% energy reduction and $100M in 10-year savings with Ameresco's Smart Lighting Program

Historic Efficiency Project Replaced 85% of City’s Street Lights With Smart City Technology for Energy Savings and Enhanced Public Safety

The City of Chicago engaged Ameresco to modernize its aging streetlight system through the Chicago Smart Lighting Program, replacing 85% of municipal fixtures with smart LED technology. The initiative aimed to reduce energy use and maintenance, centralize lighting management, and improve public safety while creating local jobs and involving community businesses.

Ameresco conducted a city-wide survey of more than 300,000 lights, replaced 270,000 street, alley and viaduct fixtures, deployed a Lighting Management System and supporting app, and trained local installers. Ameresco’s solution cut energy consumption by 50%, delivers roughly $1M in annual energy savings, positions the city to receive an estimated $35M in rebates, and is projected to save taxpayers about $100M over 10 years, while enabling remote monitoring, 311 outage integration, improved camera visibility, and expanded smart‑city capabilities.

City of Chicago