CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 20, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chapel Hill, N.C., home to the 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Champion UNC Tar Heels, has joined the Cree (Nasdaq:CREE) LED City(r) initiative, an international program to promote and deploy energy-efficient LED (light-emitting diode) lighting. Chapel Hill has installed LED streetlights along the high-profile 100 block of Franklin Street, one of the town's most recognizable landmarks.
Ten high-pressure sodium streetlights have been replaced to evaluate the extension of LED street lighting in Chapel Hill. LED street lighting can reduce energy consumption by 50 percent or more. The town is soliciting feedback from residents about the quality of the lighting during the course of the 12-month pilot program.
At a ceremony held during Chapel Hill's Earth Action Day 2009, Mayor Kevin Foy said, "Joining Cree's LED City initiative is an important part of Chapel Hill's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and becoming a fully sustainable community. By replacing low-pressure sodium streetlights with LEDs, Chapel Hill can reduce energy consumption for street lighting, which we hope will positively impact our budget as well as our carbon emissions."
Using LEDs for energy-efficient lighting is just one of the many steps Chapel Hill is taking in order to become a more environmentally-friendly community. The town has set an aggressive goal of reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent below 2005 levels, by 2050. To support this objective, Chapel Hill is acting on a comprehensive plan that includes policies to promote compact, mixed-use development; alternative transportation; greenway developments and environmental protection. Since Chapel Hill Transit became fare free in 2001, it has become the second largest transit system in the state. This year it will respond to increased ridership with the addition of 11 new hybrid electric buses, part of a plan to green the municipal fleets. Other sustainable practices establish that all new town-owned facilities be built using sustainable practices as set by the LEED Silver certification program.
Chapel Hill joins a diverse community of progressive LED Cities that are evaluating and deploying LED lighting, including: Raleigh, N.C.; Anchorage; Austin; Indian Wells, Calif.; Welland, Ontario; Tianjin, China; and Toronto. Additional information about the LED City program can be found at www.ledcity.org.
About LED City
The LED City is an expanding community of government and industry parties working to evaluate, deploy and promote LED lighting technology across the full range of municipal infrastructure to:
* Save energy * Protect the environment * Reduce maintenance costs * Provide better light quality for improved visibility and safety.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 22 percent of electricity used in the U.S. powers lighting. In a world with soaring energy prices based on the availability and control of fossil fuels, and with growing concern about sustainability of the environment, a revolution in lighting is long overdue.
About Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is home to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill has built a reputation as a leader in sustainability initiatives on social, environmental and economic issues and is piloting new technologies that will assist with the community's ambitious carbon-reduction goals. In 2006, the Town of Chapel Hill became the first U.S. municipality to commit to a 60-percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 through the Carbon Reduction Program. The Council authorized the pledge to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from Town municipal operations on a per capita basis, beginning with an initial goal of 5 percent by 2010. For more information on the town's green initiatives, visit: www.townofchapelhill.org/greencity.
About Cree
Cree is lighting the LED revolution and setting the stage to obsolete the incandescent light bulb through the use of energy-efficient, environmentally friendly LED lighting. Cree is a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting solutions, and semiconductor solutions for wireless and power applications.
Cree's product families include recessed LED down lights, blue and green LED chips, high-brightness LEDs, lighting-class power LEDs, power-switching devices and radio-frequency/wireless devices. Cree solutions are driving improvements in applications such as general illumination, backlighting, electronic signs and signals, variable-speed motors, and wireless communications. For additional product and company information, please refer to www.cree.com
The Cree, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3529
This press release contains forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated. Actual results may differ materially due to a number of factors such as the possibility that actual energy saving may vary from expectations; the potential lack of customer acceptance of LED products; the rapid development of new technology and competing products that may impair demand or render Cree's products obsolete; and other factors discussed in Cree's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 29, 2008, and subsequent filings.
Cree and LED City are registered trademarks of Cree, Inc.