In an effort to deter thieves who steal valuable copper wire from city streetlights and vandals who damage streetlights — and in a nod to renewable energy — Los Angeles has launched a solar streetlight pilot project in Van Nuys.
Copper wire thieves and vandals are leaving streetlights inoperable across L.A. — a roughly tenfold increase in just five or six years, according to Miguel Sangalang, executive director and general manager of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting.
That, along with a shortage of electricians working for the city, has created a backlog of requests for streetlight repairs. Getting a city crew to repair a streetlight once took a few days or a week, but now it take months — and in some cases up to a year, Sangalang said.
That raises concerns about public safety on darkened streets — not to mention the millions of dollars it costs taxpayers to repair the lights.
To address growing concerns, Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. City Councilmember Imelda Padilla unveiled the Los Angeles Solar Lighting Pilot Program at a news conference outside Children’s Community School in Van Nuys on Thursday, Feb. 29.
The city recently installed 104 solar lights near the school – the first neighborhood selected for the pilot program because of its high concentration of darkened street lights thanks to copper thieves and vandals, city officials said.
“We will continue to deliver solutions that improve city services, that make neighborhoods safer, more welcoming and cleaner while building a greener future that embraces renewable energy sources,” Bass said, adding that it’s difficult to feel safe when streets are dark.
Padilla said streetlights are crucial to improving a community’s sense of safety.
Having working streetlights “will enable us to feel more comfortable when we step out for evening walks with our families, kids or pets … after dark or simply coming home late from work,” Padilla said.
Sangalang said the city is evaluating other neighborhoods to deploy the solar streetlights and said the hope is to install 500 solar streetlight systems by the end of June and another 500 by the end of June 2025.
During the pilot program, the city will collect data over the next year to determine how well the lights work, and to make sure the lights remain on for two or three nights even if the sky is overcast and the streetlights don’t have much opportunity to recharge.
The solar lights have “little to no street value,” Sangalang said, and city officials hope that will deter criminals from stealing them.
One of the most memorable copper wire thefts hit Los Angeles in December when thieves raided the much-admired landmark Sixth Street Viaduct, darkening some of the lights on the iconic bridge. Sangalang said repairs will cost the city millions of dollars.
He estimated that solar lights cost about $3,000 to $5,000 per light. But city officials say the high cost will be offset over time by lower energy bills, and will help communities be more self-reliant as they transition to renewable energy.
“We are no longer reliant solely on the (energy) grid. … You can have, God forbid, an earthquake, flood or other national disaster which could take out an electrical system. You can look out your window and still see our lights on because of the fact that it can do everything by itself,” Sangalang said.
Kathy Schreiner, president of the Van Nuys Neighborhood Council who attended Thursday’s press conference, said in an interview after the presentation that neighbors often complain about darkened streetlights, and she believes the solar-powered systems will make a difference.
The community lost its previous City Council member, Nury Martinez, when she resigned after making racist comments in a backroom meeting that was leaked to the public in 2022. Schreiner said she feels that Van Nuys as a community is starting to be seen and heard again.
“Baby steps,” she said.
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