Plenary team closes on urban streetlight modernization project in Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. – Washington, D.C.’s District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OP3) announced the District of Columbia has entered a long-term public-private partnership with the Plenary Infrastructure DC (PIDC) consortium to modernize more than 75,000 lights throughout the District.

Considered one of the nation’s largest urban streetlight modernization projects, the $309 million DC Smart Street Lighting Project will convert all the city’s street and alley lights to energy-efficient LED technology with remote monitoring and control capabilities. This modern infrastructure will reduce the lights’ energy usage by more than 50 percent, eliminating 38,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions each year and extend Wi-Fi coverage in traditionally underserved neighborhoods.

The PIDC team includes:

• Plenary Americas as the lead developer and equity partner.
• Kiewit Development Company as an equity partner.
• Phoenix Infrastructure Group as a DC-based and minority-owned equity partner.
• ENGIE North America (ENGIE) as the design and construction contractor.
• EQUANS, an ENGIE company, as the Asset Manager of the infrastructure for the next 15 years.

The PIDC team will use a comprehensive approach to engage local small businesses including those certified as Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) to deliver the project. They are committed to hiring and training a local workforce, and both conversion and operations work will be performed by local subcontractors.

 “With this project, we’re doing so much more than just replacing lights – we’re making our streets safer, our communities more connected, and our city more resilient. I’m proud that with the District’s first public-private partnership, years in the making and partly financed through the DC Revenue Bond program, we’re building a stronger, brighter DC.”

Mayor Muriel Bowser

For decades, streetlights throughout Washington, D.C., have used a variety of inefficient bulb technologies, including incandescent and high-pressure sodium. The District has also long relied on residents calling 311 to report streetlight outages. Alongside the efficient lighting technologies, the project will install smart city technology components, including a remote monitoring, which will help minimize outage response times, and control system and wireless access points. By delivering extended Wi-Fi coverage, the DC Smart Street Lighting Project will help close the digital divide and advance D.C.’s progress toward its goal of citywide broadband access.

“On behalf of the Plenary Infrastructure DC team, we are honored to be partnering with the District on their first public-private partnership and the first urban P3 DBFM street-lighting project in North America. We look forward to working alongside the District over the next 15 years to provide smart, reliable, energy-efficient streetlights for the communities of Washington, D.C.,” said Brian Budden, President & CEO of Plenary Americas.

The streetlight improvements will also substantially reduce light pollution. Moreover, by minimizing outages citywide, the initiative supports the City’s Vision Zero campaign, which is designed to increase pedestrian and cyclist safety. The project will not involve any changes to light pole placement or to the style of poles and luminaries, many of which reflect a historic design dating back to the 1920s.

“The collaborative partnership with the District and PIDC delivers critical infrastructure while allowing to shape a more sustainable future. Working together we can help ensure the next generation enjoys the benefits of the city in an environment that’s clean and healthy,” said Stefaan Sercu, Managing Director, ENGIE North America. “The DC Smart Street Lighting Project expands the ENGIE footprint within the District along with customers like Howard University and Georgetown University.  We are proud to have a long-lasting presence in this great community.”

“EQUANS is proud to accompany the District in this 15-year journey towards a more energy efficient, digitized, and high performing streetlight network that will positively benefit the environment, the economy and the community” said Bruno Charrade, Managing Director, EQUANS Americas and Australia.

About the Office of Public-Private Partnerships

The District of Columbia’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OP3) is charged with building collaborations between the private sector and D.C. government to complete major infrastructure projects and other programs through long-term, performance-based procurements commonly referred to as public-private partnerships.

About Plenary Americas

 Plenary Americas has become North America’s leading specialized developer of long-term partnership projects, with a project portfolio of USD$17 billion across both the United States and Canada, including more than 50 projects in the health, transportation, defense, justice, education, energy and government accommodation sectors. With an uncompromising focus on lifecycle performance, Plenary embraces the finance, planning, design, construction, complementary commercial development and asset management operations of our projects. As a result, governments and public sector agencies look to our team to be an innovative and trusted voice in undertaking public infrastructure that meets the genuine needs and aspirations of a community.

We bring infrastructure to life. For more information, please visit www.plenaryamericas.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram.

About ENGIE North America

Based in Houston, Texas, ENGIE North America Inc. is a regional hub of ENGIE, a global leader in low-carbon energy and services. ENGIE (ENGI), is listed on the Paris and Brussels Stock Exchanges. Together with our 170,000 employees around the globe, our customers, partners and stakeholders, we are committed to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world, through reduced energy consumption and more environmentally-friendly solutions. Inspired by our purpose (“raison d’être”), we reconcile economic performance with a positive impact on people and the planet, building on our key businesses (gas, renewable energy, services) to offer competitive solutions to our customers.  In North America, ENGIE helps our clients achieve their energy efficiency, reliability, and ultimately, their sustainability goals, as we work together to shape a sustainable future. We accomplish this through: energy efficiency projects, providing energy supply (including renewables and natural gas), and the development, construction and operation of renewable energy assets (wind, solar, storage and more). 

For more information on ENGIE North America, please visit our LinkedIn page or Twitter feed, https://www.engie-na.com/ and https://www.engie.com.

About EQUANS

EQUANS is the world leader in multi-technical services, with 74,000 employees in 17 countries. EQUANS designs, installs, and provides customized solutions to improve the technical equipment, systems, and processes of its clients and to optimize their use through their energy, industrial and digital transitions. Thanks to a strong territorial footprint relying on historical local brands and excellent technical know-how, EQUANS’ highly qualified experts support territories, cities, and industries in HVAC, Cooling and Fire protection, Facility Management, Digital, Electrical, Mechanical and Robotics, where security and business continuity are critical.

In North America, EQUANS has been offering integrated solutions and services to optimize and guarantee its clients’ long-term returns for more than 30 years in infrastructure projects such as streetlights, airports, high tech industries, office, and government buildings.

EQUANS is a separate entity of ENGIE.

 https://www.equans.com/

About Phoenix Infrastructure Group Investments

Phoenix Infrastructure Group Investments, LLC is the investment arm of Phoenix Infrastructure Group, LLC (“Phoenix Infrastructure”) the local investment partner and equity holder of PIDC. Phoenix Infrastructure is founded and headquartered in the District of Columbia and one of the few minority-owned infrastructure investors in the United States. With a focus on projects that support and positively impact communities, Phoenix Infrastructure is engaged in projects within the transportation, transit, smart city, and social infrastructure space across the United States, with a current value of projects exceeding $700 million.

About Kiewit Development Company

Kiewit Development Company (KDC) is the development, investment and asset management arm of Kiewit. With offices in Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver, Toronto, and Vancouver KDC provides in-house development, finance and asset management expertise to deliver projects for its clients and partners. KDC’s North American portfolio includes eight P3 projects, with an aggregate capital cost of $7 billion. KDC and its affiliates have worked on over 30 large P3 project pursuits and has committed over $350 million in equity to P3 projects. With other consortium members on their project pursuits, KDC has raised private project debt in excess of $18 billion.

Contact: Michael Clingan, michael.clingan@external.engie.com, (832) 745-6057