Photo by ep_jhu

Mayor Vince Gray today celebrated the end of a year-long project to install 1,360 LED lights in D.C. alleys.

During a ceremony in an alley in Mt. Pleasant this morning, Gray and other officials highlighted how the new LED bulbs are brighter and most energy-efficient than the incandescent bulbs they are replacing. According to a press release from Gray’s office, each 54-watt LED light has a life expectancy of 12-15 years, compared to the six to 12 months that regular bulbs lasted.

All told, the new lights are expected to save 591,000 kilowatt hours in electricity annually, as well as reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 719 tons. The D.C. Department of Transportation has planed to replace all street and alley lights with LED alternatives by 2015; according to Gray, that’s 70,000 lights across the city.

It was just a few weeks ago that Gray rolled out his ambitious 20-year sustainability plan for D.C., which included lowering energy usage by 50 percent by 2032.