Bristol has taken a significant step towards tackling climate change by becoming one of the first major cities in the UK to power its street lights with 100% "green" energy.

The city council has secured a contract with Eon Energy to purchase 22575063 KWH of energy a year generated through renewable sources such as wind, wave and solar power. 

The contract came into force in January 2007.

Whilst higher energy prices overall mean that the council's bill for street lighting will have had to rise, the deal that the council has been able to negotiate is some £500,000-a-year less than the worst case scenario some experts were predicting.

Bristol has 34000 street lighting lanterns, by purchasing 100% renewable energy the council will achieve a 15% reduction in its CO2 emissions by Spring 2008 - three years earlier than originally targeted.

Councillor Dennis Brown, Executive Member for Transport with responsibility for street lighting, said: "This move demonstrates the council's commitment to reducing its impact on climate change and will be another important step towards establishing Bristol's credentials as a green capital in Europe.

"This follows on from other recent Council initiatives, such as boosting recycling to 40% of all household waste - believed to be the best performance of any major UK city - and our innovative introduction of energy-saving biomass boilers, solar panels and environmentally-friendly lighting systems in many of our buildings and facilities."