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Fairfax County’s yearslong streetlight conversion is nearing completion, with annual electricity use for the system falling by roughly 56% as tens of thousands of older fixtures have been replaced with LEDs.
Dominion Energy, which owns, operates and maintains about 96% of the county’s 60,000 streetlights, had converted approximately 52,100 lights as of March. That represents about 93% of the lights it manages, with another 2,400 replacements awaiting construction.
The county said the upgrades make its infrastructure more cost-effective, climate-friendly and resilient while preserving reliable lighting for residents, businesses and visitors.
The conversion stems from a 2018 agreement that Fairfax County, other local governments and the Northern Virginia Regional Commission reached with Dominion. The deal lowered conversion and operating costs while expanding available fixture styles and lighting options.
The county formally launched its LED Conversion Streetlight Program in 2019. Streetlights used about 40 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually from 2016 through 2019, compared with 17.5 million kilowatt-hours in 2025.
LED fixtures consume 40% to 60% less electricity than conventional mercury-vapor, high-pressure-sodium and metal-halide lights, according to the county. They can also last three to four times longer.
Once the conversions are complete, the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services estimates they will save Fairfax County about $1.4 million in annual energy costs and prevent 32.4 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
NOVEC conversions remain far behind
Progress has been much slower among streetlights managed by the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, which oversees the remaining 4% of the county’s inventory.
NOVEC has converted 378, or about 16%, of its approximately 2,300 streetlights. Another 1,922 still need to be replaced.
Unlike Dominion, NOVEC does not have an agreement with Fairfax County to accelerate the transition. The cooperative is instead converting lights through routine maintenance and its standard operating process, according to the public works department.
Residents can also petition the county for streetlight improvements. Those projects may include LED conversions, resized fixtures or other upgrades needed to meet current lighting standards.
Conversion supports 2050 climate goal
The LED initiative is part of Fairfax County’s Operational Energy Strategy, adopted in 2018 and updated in 2021. The strategy supports the county’s goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
It also calls for county facilities and operations to reduce electricity and natural-gas use by 25% by 2030 and 50% by 2040, measured against fiscal 2018 levels.
County energy use has generally declined since 2018, although it rose in 2025 in an increase that appears linked to greater natural-gas consumption. County facilities recorded 217 million kilowatt-hours of electricity in fiscal 2025, down from more than 260 million in fiscal 2018.
Overall greenhouse-gas emissions show a similar pattern. They remain below 2005 levels but have increased since 2020 as travel rebounded following the pandemic.