Mexico Takes Lead in Latin America with Announcement of Region’s Largest GE LED Street Lighting Project

Mexican government’s Special 2010-2012 Climate Change Program.

CANCUN, Mexico–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In the context of the 16th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Quintana Roo’s Estate Governor Félix González Canto reiterated his country’s commitment to the environment by presenting a project to replace 25,507 streetlights in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco with GE Evolve™ light-emitting diode (LED) cobrahead street lights.

“It is our job at all levels of government to support the country’s growth and the well-being of our citizens. LEDs are the future of lighting solutions and Chetumal and its municipality are setting the standards for other cities in Latin America and the world to follow”

The project supports the Mexican government’s Special 2010-2012 Climate Change Program to mitigate environmental impacts by reducing the municipality’s energy usage by 29,218,980 million watts per year. The resulting greenhouse gas emission reduction would be the equivalent of taking the approximately 40,000 cars that operate throughout Othón Blanco off the roads in a 10-year period.

Once completed, the project will be the largest installation of LED streetlights in Latin America.

“All eyes are on Mexico as we host this important meeting on climate change, and we are pleased to support our country’s commitment to the world with actions that will have a long-term impact on the environment,” Governor González Canto remarked. “As many countries begin to move toward achieving their environmental goals, Mexico is establishing its leadership with concrete examples, such as transitioning to LED lighting in our cities.”

According to the 2009 annual report of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), Mexico is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, with 71% of its GDP at risk of suffering the adverse consequences of this environmental phenomenon. “Governments have a responsibility to seek efficient solutions to meet our energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals,” said Municipal President of Othón P. Blanco, Andrés F. Ruiz Morcillo. “It is our job at all levels of government to support the country’s growth and the well-being of our citizens. LEDs are the future of lighting solutions and Chetumal and its municipality are setting the standards for other cities in Latin America and the world to follow,” he added.

The 25,507 GE LED lighting systems will generate estimated energy savings of 51% for the town, when compared to the technology currently in place. These savings are a result of the long life and efficiency of LED technology and GE’s Evolve™ system, voted Best-in-Class in the 2010 Next Generation Luminaires™ Design Competition (The competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America and the International Association of Lighting Designers, cites excellence in the design of energy-efficient LED luminaries for general illumination lighting). Among the advantages of LED lighting are its long life and the possibility of directing light to specific areas, reducing light pollution and glare. LEDs offer brighter, more uniform light that allows for better visibility as well as color rendition. For governments, this means fewer labor hours for replacing lamps, less traffic disruption and a greater sense of security among citizens.

“GE’s goal is to provide innovative, leadership products that help our customers meet their environmental and financial goals, and we believe that LED technology is the future of lighting solutions. We are extremely proud that Mexico has chosen GE for the largest LED public roadway lighting installation in Latin America, and trusted us to be a part of one of the initiatives the country is implementing to meet its domestic environmental needs,” commented Michael J. Petras, president and CEO of GE Lighting.

Avances Lumínicos Plus S.A. de C.V. – GE’s authorized national distributor and exclusive concessionary in the state of Quintana Roo – is responsible for the financing, installation and maintenance of the light-emitting diode (LED) systems employed in the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco through a 15 year concession agreement with the Municipality. “We are very please with the opportunity to work with a trusted brand such as GE to bring our customers in Mexico the best in technology innovation”, says Salomon Marcovich, President and CEO, Avances Luminicos Plus.

About the State of Quintana Roo and the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco

Quintana Roo is located on the eastern side of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico. Its eastern beaches are bathed by the waters of the Caribbean Sea, making it known around the world as the ” Riviera Maya” The state is divided into nine municipalities, seven of which were created in 1974 when the former Federal Territory of Quintana Roo attained statehood. The eighth municipality, Solidaridad, was created in 1993, and the ninth and most recent, Tulum, in 2008.

Othón P. Blanco is Quintana Roo’s largest municipality. It covers the entire southern portion of the state, representing 36.9% of its territory, and is Mexico’s fifth largest municipality. Its capital is the city of Chetumal.

About GE Lighting Solutions

GE Lighting Solutions, based in Cleveland, Ohio, is a unit of GE Appliances & Lighting, which spans the globe as an industry leader in major appliances, lighting, systems and services for commercial, industrial and residential use. Technology innovation and the company’s ecomaginationSM initiative enable GE Appliances & Lighting to aggressively bring to market products and solutions that help customers meet pressing environmental challenges. General Electric (NYSE: GE), imagination at work, sells products under the Monogram®, Profile™, GE®, Hotpoint®, SmartWater™, Reveal® and Energy Smart® consumer brands, and Tetra®, Vio™ and Immersion® commercial brands. For more information, consumers may visit www.ge.com.

About Avances Luminicos Plus

Avances Luminicos Plus S.A. de C.V., a Mexican company with more than 30 years dedicated to the manufacturing and commercialization of lamps and fixtures.