NYSERDA Award to Expand Availability of Energy Efficient Lighting

November 19, 2009

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced it has awarded Bridge Metal Industries, LLC (BMI) $1.5 million to expand its existing manufacturing space in Mount Vernon, NY to produce a new Light Emitting Diode (LED) light fixtures designed for the retail sector. The new fixture will reduce electricity consumption within the retail sector, increase light levels of products in stores, facilitate job creation, and add to the growing portfolio of renewable, clean energy, and energy efficiency products manufactured in New York State.

The award was made through NYSERDA’s Renewable, Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Product Manufacturing Incentive Program, which has awarded $6 million to New York companies over the last two years.

“Today’s announcement underscores Governor David A. Paterson’s efforts to transition our State into a clean energy economy with good jobs, a vibrant workforce, and a solid manufacturing base that will supply national and global markets with advanced technologies to reduce demand for electricity,” said Francis J. Murray Jr., President and CEO of NYSERDA. “Working with our private partners, such as BMI, NYSERDA is committed to increasing the proportion of clean energy and energy efficient ‘made in New York’ products available to consumers as they realize the energy, environmental, and economic benefits of investing in green technologies.”

LED’s are semi-conductors that convert electricity into light and are a dependable technology to reduce energy costs and improve environmental sustainability. An established designer of display lighting fixtures for nationwide retail chains, BMI has developed new designs to take advantage of the energy savings performance offered by LED’s. The company’s new products, manufactured in Mount Vernon, offer the potential for long-term energy savings and carbon footprint reduction demanded by leading national stores.

Solid State LED lighting technology became a viable lighting source in the past few years as the energy efficiency surpassed fluorescent lighting and the color of the light became acceptable. It is projected that the efficiency of LED’s will be twice that of the ones commercially available today in less than three years. In the lighting world it is seen nothing short of revolutionary.

“This incentive has enables us to move quickly into manufacturing an energy-efficient product that will make a difference in the environment. In addition to directly creating jobs here, it will create jobs at some of our existing New York State vendors and new vendors to support our production,” said Alan Cowen, BMI Project Coordinator.

Other companies that have receive awards through NYSERDA’s Renewable, Clean Energy, and Energy Efficiency Product Manufacturing Incentive Program include Ioxus, Inc. (Oneonta), a producer of innovative energy storage products based on ultracapacitor technology; Prism Solar Technologies, Inc. (Highland), a manufacturer of holographic film that increases the efficiency of solar photovoltaic modules; and SpectraWatt, Inc. (East Fishkill), a maker of crystalline silicon solar cells.

Visit NYSERDA for more information.