Global Renovation of Public Lighting in Corsica (France) (GRENPLIGHTC) is a project supported by NESOI European Islands Facility managed by our partners from R2M Solution and promoted by the “Agence d’Aménagement durable, d’Urbanisme et d’Energie de la Corse (AUE in French).
What is GRENPLIGHTC about?
The AUE in Corsica is the agency responsible for taking the necessary steps to ensure the correct implementation of energy transition policies. One of the actions was to provide support to smaller municipalities to renovate more than 20,000 lighting points by 2023.
This renovation responds to the need of improving the efficiency of the public lighting that will be covered by the use of LED technology and time management lighting. This will led to the creation of a Regional Public Lighting Chart in order to be able to apply for several certifications that state that the island is free from light pollution.
As stated by Cyrille Monti from the AUE in an interview, this project will have a direct impact on the island’s economy, first, by the savings on the energy bill and also fauna and flora will better develop and grow in the environment.
What are the problems created by light pollution?
Light pollution is defined by the European Commission as the “adverse or bad effect as a result of man-made lights”, which usually means the existence of too much light. Several species of animals, plants and humans, are affected by it. There are several initiatives to raise awareness about this problem, such as the “Earth Hour”. However, it still remains a challenge in some places around the globe (especially around big cities) to find dark spots and find response to this phenomenon that has direct implications on climate change.
GRENPLIGHTC aims to reduce light pollution and to reach the highest standard of night sky quality. As Mr. Monti expressed during his interview: “a test has shown that around renovated lighting points, trees are greener and higher; around non-renovated points, the light spectrum has prevented tree growth”.
In addition, they also seek to attract Dark Sky Tourism, which will complement the one welcomed during the high season, thus providing additional benefits by the new services that will be provided in the island.
How does NESOI support this project?
GRENPLIGHTC applied to the call for proposals of NESOI and requested advisory services at different levels. Concretely, the support that the AUE is receiving is the following:
- Analysis of AUE procedures and documents
- Proposals for better actions and evolution of AUE tools (from the technical perspective)
- Feedback on global public lighting renovation at local, national and European level
- Support in the elaboration of consultation documents for the Regional Chart
- Feedback in economic, financial modelling and fund matching
- Support during Regional Chart elaboration