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Cleveland’s LED lighting plan - BOLD...but SENSIBLE? -Submitted by briancummins on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 18:36.
Mayor Frank Jackson and his Administration havebeen saying that their proposed deal to award a 10-year, exclusive contract for all of the City’s energy-efficient LED lighting needs to Sunpu Opto from China is a bold move. Someone close to Cleveland’s LED lighting story summed it up well – Q. How many City of Cleveland officials does it take to replace a light bulb? Next Monday May 24th, Cleveland City Council may vote on the ordinance that would do just that. This past Monday, the unofficial vote count was 10-yes; 8-no, 1-absent. But there was no official vote called because 13 votes were needed to pass the ordinance as an “emergency measure,” and the votes weren’t there. This deal, if passed, will lock in the City for a decade with Sunpu Opto for LED products like streetlights, traffic lights, light bulbs and tube lights. Ten years is an eternity in the fast-evolving LED technology, as advances are made and new products are introduced every six months, according to U.S. Department of Energy LED/Solid-State Lighting (DOE) experts.
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs and the Credibility of Who Would Provide Them
 How do we support a deal like this and justify the monopoly on City business? “Jobs, jobs, jobs” is the City Administration answers. In addition to the jobs mantra, the other repeated response - even while many questions and details remain unanswered - is that there will be plenty of performance measures and pricing guarantees - guarantees from a company that currently has no sales, no apparent customers, and no products yet tested in the U.S. And what more do we know about Sunpu Opto and its business? Top DOE officials and other industry experts have not heard of the company. There is no record of the company participating in any of the DOE sponsored industry conferences in the past three years – designed to share technical knowledge, product development and certification information. When Council Members asked to see a business plan and Sunpu Opto’s plans for growth, we were told the Administration does not have that information. When asked for a client list and supporting documentation regarding the credibility of the company we received patent and company certification information mostly in Chinese with no translations. The two U.S. customers on the client list were contacted. One has no record of Sunpu Opto in their accounting, vendor or procurement systems and the other cannot be reached.
What about the products? The City claims no one else has the full range of products, because only Sunpu Opto can supply LED tubes that can simply drop into existing fluorescent fixtures as well as proving the promised jobs. The truth needs to get a little more technical. Last week, Jim Brodrick, an LED expert at the DOE, posted a warning to any would-be purchaser that the DOE has tested a dozen different LED T8 replacement tubes (replacements for four foot florescent tubes), and the bottom line is they simply don’t perform as well as energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs, plus they cost a lot more – they’re not economically or technically competitive replacements yet. And as reported in the Plain Dealer, putting LED tubes into fixtures designed for fluorescent bulbs raises safety concerns.
Brodrick continues…
“…What this means is that, amidst all the heated market activity, buyers and specifiers need to be very careful when it comes to LED [fluorescent replacements]. That’s why DOE has just published a fact sheet on the topic, which serves as a useful tool to help buyers cut through the hype and get to the heart of the matter…”
REF: http://www.lightnowblog.com/2010/05/jim-brodrick-on-led-linear-replacement-lamps/
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/publications/pdfs/ssl/t8_replacement-lamps.pdf Mayor Jackson nevertheless insists that,
“[the deal will] allow the City to spend its dollars wisely on a product(s) that uses less energy and saves the city money.”
he also insists,
“Their [Sunpu Opto] technology is superior…than other companies whether foreign or domestic”
Commissioner Ivan Henderson of Cleveland Public Power has stated,
“This is what the lighting industry says is the future...it is coming, it is coming, but in fact it is really here, it’s here already.”
But the Administration’s claims are contradicted by a simple examination of Sunpu Opto’s own claims about its products. Taken at face value, the information Sunpu Opto provided shows that its bulbs and tubes produce only half as much light as traditional lighting products. (more about this in a moment.)
And, the Administration will not require LM 80 testing, which measures how quickly LEDs dim over time. Nor will the contract require federal Energy Star® ratings, which are afforded to products that meet certain minimum performance thresholds.
In fact, Commissioner Henderson is on record stating there will be no performance requirements for the products in the contract.
Henderson also argues that Energy Star qualification is not a legal requirement and that “good” products can be produced without the rating. Perhaps that’s true to some degree, but how can the Administration claim that Sunpu Opto has the best quality if its products aren’t even Energy Star qualified. Most municipalities and other LED purchases actually require that the LED products they purchase meet Energy Star requirements. It is the one sure label to look for that ensures product performance is measured according to standards and that minimum specifications are achieved.
On a separate but related note, how can the Administration downplay the importance of the Energy Star program for this contract, while at the same time requiring builders and new development/ construction projects in the City to be Energy Star rated? Let's be bold and let's do it with standards we can measure.
The Administration also seems irresponsibly unconcerned about how much light the Sunpu Opto products provide. The Sunpu Opto 60-watt “equivalent,” for example, actually gives off only half as much light as a regular 60-watt incandescent bulb. The Sunpu Opto LED tube gives off less than half as much light as a fluorescent tube – and is less energy-efficient on top of that.
The Administration appears unconcerned about having City employees and the public going about their business under dim light conditions – and Commissioner Henderson had no problem asserting to City Council that the Sunpu Opto LED tubes provide the same amount of light as fluorescent tubes, even when confronted with Sunpu Opto’s own 1100 lumen rating versus a fluorescent tube’s rating of 2500 lumens (lumens are a measure of how much light bulb or tube gives off).
Status of LED Lighting Technology
   It is clear that LED lighting technology has moved out of its infancy and now is developing rapidly. High quality LED traffic signals, streetlights, and product display lighting are available on a broad scale. Some LED products, however, such as replacement LED light bulbs and tubes are not yet suitable for broad replacement of traditional lighting. According to DOE analysis, these products simply are not yet economical or effective.
The DOE’s most recent new program supporting LED adoption is the Solid State Street Light Consortium. This initiative is aimed at leveraging “the efforts of multiple cities pursuing evaluations of LED street lighting products.” Although the program’s focus is on streetlights, Edward Smalley, of Seattle City Light and leader of the Consortium, informed me that it will provide an excellent forum for municipalities to discuss LEDs of all types.
The Consortium members will collect, analyze, and share information and lessons learned related to LED street light demonstration projects. Why is the Administration reluctant to take advantage of this valuable resource? One that will only grow in importance as more cities join in the effort to share and learn from the program.
An Alternative to a No-Bid Contract -
 The DOE stated earlier this month that next generation LED products are being introduced every six months. Given these rapid technological advances, new developments in testing criteria, and a deluge (two-thirds of what is tested do not meet claims) of products with unsubstantiated claims of quality and offers of low prices, what should the City do?
The answer is obvious and indicated in the new Solid State Street Light Consortium: rather than using a closed, non-competitive, no-bid process that locks the City into a single supplier for all LED products for 10 years (products that are in different stages of development), the City should take the opposite approach – issue wide-open, public requests for quotation/qualifications (RFQs) to LED suppliers.
The RFQs can relate to those LED products, like street lights and traffic lights, that have already proven themselves in the marketplace, have received UL (safety) listings, and have undergone performance testing (known as LM 79 and LM 80). The RFQs should also seek photometric files as substantiation for product claims – technical data that is standard for reviewing product performance measures.
For other LED products, such as bulbs and tubes, the City shouldn’t be a free-spending guinea pig for these. It should follow the development of the products and jump in when they offer better, more economical performance than traditional lighting technologies. This is the only way the City can assure itself, and its citizens, that it is getting the best products at the best prices using city or federal tax dollars.
The only sensible way forward is to demand an open, fair and transparent bidding process – as required by our City Charter – based on specifications, not on generalizations and superlatives we’ve heard from CPP. Over the last few weeks, we’ve learned much about lighting and lumens from local experts and from impartial third-party LED experts at the DOE and within the LED industry.
If this deal is approved, it will be a travesty for Clevelanders and a further blow to the credibility of Cleveland officials. As elected and appointed officials, we owe it to our constituents to be wise and find the best value when we spend their tax dollars.
Brian J. Cummins
Cleveland City Counciman, Ward 14 Member, Utilities Committee Member, Community and Economic Development Committee bcummins[at]clevelandcitycouncil.org 216-664-4238 ---------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Cross posted at:
References and links:
City of Cleveland
TV 20’s special report on LED Lighting initiative: http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/CityofCleveland/Home/media-gallery/video?id=409 City of Cleveland’s LED Lighting Initiative Fact Sheet, http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/clnd_images/PDF/Mayor/LED%20Lighting%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf Letter dtd May 7, 2010, by Mayor Frang G. Jackson, http://www.city.cleveland.oh.us/clnd_images/PDF/Mayor/Cleveland%27s%20LED%20Lighting%20Initiative.pdf Peter Tien: Identified as sole owner of Sunpu Opto USA) . Mr. Tien introduced the City of Cleveland to Sunpu Opto and also is working with the City in developing a waste-to-energy plant.
• Princeton Environmental Group, http://www.princetonenvironmental.com/; • Kinsei Sangyo Company,http://www.kinsei-s.co.jp/index2.htm Department of Energy’s Solid-State Lighting Program
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/ssl/ Articles and links:
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No sense
And why is this considered an "emergency measure" with Mayor Jackson rushing to pass this nonsense?
Thank you for posting this here and for expressing such valid concerns.
City’s energy efficiency
If Cleveland is so concerned about energy efficiency, how about starting with installing on/off electrical switches in the Police Headquarters at the Justice Center.
This should have been considered an "emergency" when the Justice Center was built- around 34 years ago.
Lights on at the headquarters for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 34 years... real efficient.
The Chinese could make a killing selling LED bulbs in that building alone. I wonder how often the bulbs are changed in the headquarters considering the bulbs burn constantlly.
How many jobs would this efficiency create? The savings from this alone might actually put a few of the laid off police officers back in their headquarters.
The old saying, "Will the last one out of the City please turn the lights out", will not work in this City since we can NOT even turn the lights out!
story
Need broader investigation into contracting at City Hall
Need broader investigation into contracting at City Hall
waste to energy?
city.cleveland.oh.us?
Public relations (City Council too)?
Disrupt IT
Hey Kevin Conwell: What will Cleveland City Council members do?
I hope there are thoughtful members of Cleveland City Council that have read, and consided the extensive examination now available of the Chinese company that Mayor Jackson wants to make this dubious deal with. I suspect some of this information is new to the city.
Ed Morrison, a leading Cleveland-based "open" regional economic activist, has summed up SunPu Opto in a few devastating paragraphs:
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2010/clevelands-led-misguided-led-strategy
Just who is Cleveland's current mayor listening too?
Councilman Conwell and the Footprints is the third act this Saturday (5/22) around 1:30-2:30 pm at the Hessler Street Fair [located in his ward]. It would be a good time to ask him from the audience. Then his statement would be simulcast live on WRUW-FM 91.1 (CWRUW) and recorded for later play!
Travesty
Bold?? Wake up!
This appears to be the chosen magic word these days--a corporate mantra for parasitic charlatans.
Ed Morrison's concise analysis also dispels the hocus-pocus, you-will-believe-everything-I-say:
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2010/clevelands-led-misguided-led-strategy#comment-3934
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now, who will undo the mass hypnosis--"It's BOLD, BOLD, BOLD..."--that we have allowed to destroy our public education system in NEO????
Letter to the Editor: Feb. 8, 2010
4:30 am, February 8, 2010
Sanders' transformation plan a farce
Nothing illustrates the disconnect between suburban/exurban Northeast Ohio and the city of Cleveland more than the letter to the editor submitted to Crain's by Jim Rundo of Chesterland in your Jan. 25 issue.
Mr. Rundo rhapsodizes about the foundation-funded Boston Consulting Group/Eugene Sanders Transformation Plan for the Cleveland schools, and admits that he lives nowhere near Cleveland — but only has Cleveland's best interests at heart — when he steps up to proudly endorse the plan that he acknowledges will be painful.
Well, it is time that those of you living outside the city of Cleveland realize that we, who do live here and who do pay taxes in the city of Cleveland, are tired of being your blood meal.
It is time that you acknowledge that Eugene Sanders and Daniel Burns were recruited to destroy and corporatize the unionized Cleveland public school system. Outside corporations and contractors have had their field day at the taxpayers' and at our children's expense. Corporate interests have intentionally undermined our schools and communities to line their pockets.
This Cleveland Metropolitan School District school board can either recognize the fraud and vote against the Sanders' Transformation Plan on Feb. 23 or they can continue to bleed away our future.
It's that simple. Eugene Sanders and his administration are under investigation in Toledo for fiscal malfeasance. It's only a matter of time before the full extent of fraud and corruption is uncovered here in Cleveland as well.
I respect Crain's Cleveland Business and the business community in Northeast Ohio. I ask you to not endorse this plan and to hold our school administrators accountable to every child and to the taxpayers supporting our schools.
Laura A. McShane
Cleveland
Brian, what is status of the Sunpu Opto deal now?
It seems clear enough concerns have been raised to investigate this deal further - Brian, what is status of the Sunpu Opto deal now?
Disrupt IT
Frank Jackson Mail-LED update
Received in email today: The key word here is IF... I hope that this unravels.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friend:
LED lighting is widely recognized around the world as a growth industry due to its potential for increasing energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint and reducing the cost of lighting homes and businesses. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) calls LED lighting “…a pivotal emerging technology that promises to fundamentally alter lighting in the future.” I have proposed an economic development initiative that would attract an international LED lighting manufacturer to Cleveland , create jobs and provide the city with an energy efficient product. On Monday, May 17, Cleveland City Council's Finance Committee approved legislation necessary to authorize the contract. In the near future, I anticipate a full vote by Cleveland City Council on this matter.
If approved, this bold economic development initiative will move forward. Please click here to read more.
Sincerely,
Mayor Frank G. Jackson
.
More and more Jackson reminds me of George W. Bush
More and more Jackson reminds me of George W. Bush
Who are his Chaneys? His Halliburtons? His Black Waters?
Why do I sense there may be an FBI noose tightening around many necks at City Hall?
The 2 year anniversary of the FBI crackdown at the County is the end of July... the media seems to be preparing for something big going down, and distancing themselves from lots of big people they used to seem to love... could there by more fireworks this Summer than expected?
If, as the FBI has said, we are the most corrupt community in America, we haven't come close to seeing the grand finale
Disrupt IT
The shakedown and brainwash
This takes tried-and-true local corruption to a global level. Shakedown city...unreal.
(But it's BOLD!)
BOLD
"I may be wrong, but it ain't because I've been trying to be wrong." Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
Now assume he has been wrong about everything
Now assume he has been wrong about everything, all along, forever.
Assume every election was rigged...
Assume every appointment was political...
Assume every hire was collusive...
Assume every contract is corrupt...
Know we have all been POISONED as a result!
Now fix that.
Just plain WRONG.
Disrupt IT
Stink, Stink, Stink From City Hall
In other words this had the stamp of a Rush Job.
Roldo's view
bizarre politics
The saga of the dark side of energy saving light bulb stories continues as impoverished city continues its surrender to free trade. The cause and effect behind the history of free trade is still ignored.
Bizarre Politcs
The Big ROTTEN stink
Extends to landfills, garbage hauling, demolitions and real estate deals--CDCs, developers and the Land Bank...and WATER--
If New Orleans is/was the Big Easy, we are the Big Stink.
big rotten stink
further extends to business owners in the Cleveland area that always get screwed over while others seem to profit.
Take a poll from the legit business owners in the Cleveland area asking how fair and easy it is to operate in the City of Cleveland- without paying bribes.
And there is going to be a really big stink when 60 million earthworms die in the very near future. I would imagine that would not be a pleasant odor.
sansai
The Big Irony
From Roldo's column http://www.coolcleveland.com/blog/2010/05/roldo-stink-stink-stink-from-city-hall/:
Westbrook voted against the legislation in Finance on Monday, as did Dona Brady, Zach Reed, Brian Cummins, T. J. Dow, Mike Polensek, Kevin Conwell and Jeff Johnson. That means eight of 19 voted against. Anthony Brancatelli was at a Leadership Cleveland meeting and didn’t vote.
Which means who did vote for it....?
Leadership Cleveland names 68 to its 2010 class
What it this, the Junior Illuminati...? Our Councilman missed doing his job to "learn" how to do a better other job... what better other job... collusion to "prepare and build leadership resources within the Greater Cleveland community"?!?!?! What a Bush-League band-aid... including a pied piper: Elizabeth Sullivan, Editorial Page Editor, The Plain Dealer...
Is this legal... is this Action Jackson's CIA Contra Training Program????? Who is Chaney in this mess?!?!
Brock Thompson
Vice President
Time Warner Media Sales
NEO Division
Timothy Tramble
Executive Director
Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc.
Nancy Udelson
Executive Director
Alzheimer's Association
Cleveland Area Chapter
Gareth Vaughan
Executive Vice President
The Albert M. Higley Co.
Peggy Wager
Civic Activist/Philanthropist, Self Employed
Claire Walker
Vice President, Business Operations
Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE)
David Wallace
Co-Chair, Litigation Practice Group
Taft, Stettinius & Hollister LLP
Jeffrey Wild
Partner
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
David Wondolowski
Business Representative, Executive Vice President
Ohio Administrative District Council of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers
Claire Zangerle
President and CEO
Visiting Nurse Association
Daniel Zittnan
Managing Partner
Grant Thornton LLP
Disrupt IT
Let's see the Leadership-Cleveland 68 lead Cleveland out of this
Let's see the Leadership-Cleveland 68 lead Cleveland out of this - if they can't (and they haven't already), they fail.
Disrupt IT
Baltimore
I am curious to know why the Cleveland Leadership Class met in Baltimore during the vote on Sunpu Opto legislation.
Any one know why?
my opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer, my spouse, my cat, my neighbors, my extended family or anyone I happen to acknowledge on the street, bus, etc.
And then there were none
By my count-ten council members vote for the LED deal--please correct me, if I am wrong.
Martin Sweeney
Kevin Kelley
Patricia Britt
Phyllis Cleveland
Joe Cimperman
Terrell Pruitt
Ken Johnson
Mamie Mitchell
Matt Zone
Martin Keane
One councilmember absent-Anthony Bracatelli.
Ward 1
Terrell H. Pruitt
Council Phone: (216) 664-4944
council1 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Michael D. Polensek
Council Phone: (216) 664-4236
Home: (216) 531-7648
council11 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 2
Zachary Reed
Council Phone: (216) 664-4945
Home: (216) 921-5117
council2 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 12
Anthony Brancatelli
Council Phone: (216) 664-4233
council12 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 3
Joe Cimperman Council Phone: (216) 664-2691
council3 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 13
Kevin J. Kelley - Majority Whip
Council Phone: (216) 664-2943
Ward Office: (216) 351-7077
council13 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Kenneth L. Johnson
Council Phone: (216) 664-4941
Ward Office: (216) 421-8639
Home: (216) 421-8639
council4 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Brian J. Cummins
Council Phone: (216) 664-4238
Ward Office: (216) 459-8400
Home: (216) 661-6821
council14 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Phyllis Cleveland - Majority Leader
Council Phone: (216) 664-2309
Home: (216) 431-3349
council5 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Matt Zone
Council Phone: (216) 664-4235
Ward Office: (216) 939-1717
Home: (216) 961-1235
council15 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Mamie J. Mitchell
Council Phone: (216) 664-4234
Ward Office: (216) 791-8683
council6 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Jay Westbrook
Council Phone: (216) 664-4230
Ward Office: (216) 664-4230
Home: (216) 281-1811 council16 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 7
TJ Dow
Council Phone: (216) 664-2908 council7 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Dona Brady
Council Phone: (216) 664-3708
Ward Office: (216) 961-4999
Home: (216) 961-4999
council17 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Ward 8
Jeffrey Johnson Council Phone: (216) 664-4231
council8 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Martin J. Sweeney - Council President
Council Phone: (216) 664-2942
Home: (216) 252-0986
council18 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Kevin Conwell
Council Office: (216) 664-4252
Ward Office: (216) 791-6642
council9 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Martin J. Keane
Council Phone: (216) 664-4239
council19 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Eugene R. Miller
Council Phone: (216) 664-4743
council10 [at] clevelandcitycouncil [dot] org
Convoluded thinking
Laura,
This is just another fine example of convoluded thinking. I think we should throw the whole dang bunch out and start over.
"Oh what a dangerous web we weave when first we practice to deceive"
Sir Walter Scott.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A POLITICIAN AND A FISHERMAN
This morning I was thinking about liars, liars, pants on fire and it came to mind what the difference between a politican and a fisherman was.
When a fisherman lies, he always tells he caught a big one
When a politician lies, it's 'cause he's going to pull a big one.
Catching vs. getting caught
Catching vs. getting caught - politicians get caught
Disrupt IT
Eugene Miller was one of the ten votes
Laura,
Eugene Miller was one of the ten votes and not Clerk Patricia Britt. The rest of the list is correct. Also, note that Councilman Brancatelli who was not there last monday for the vote has made it clear that he opposes the legislation as it stands. He wrote a memo to Council President Sweeney this past Friday asking to have the legislation go back and be heard at the Utilities and Community & Economic Development Committees.
Regards,
Brian.
Thank you
For the clarification--I appreciate your willingness to set the record straight here.
Fooled again??!
Great commentary and post by Ed Morrison at BFD--
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2010/clevelands-led-misguided-led-strategy#comment-3934
I wish this bad dream would end...
http://www.brewedfreshdaily.com/2010/clevelands-led-deal-gets-goofier-by-the-day
it's Bold..BOLD...BOLD.....snap fingers...wake up....
global trade is killed by global competition
America, the world leader in innovation, scientific research, industrial applications and products, etc; etc; etc.
Yet why does every big American corp, so entrenched in the ways they've been doing things for years all chant, "you don't know the dark side of the force!" Are we the world leaders in not changing, resistance and dilusional thinking?
Global trade was killed by global competition, you asked for it, you got it, so compete already.
If the Chinese got the drop on us, we need to step up our game. Either get in front and do it or stop saying we are leaders. It took Toyota and the firing of the GM prez to propel the greener car notion in America. Frankly I don't want to see not one more how we are going green commercial from American companies not putting green products on the market. Who cares if your building is green if your products aren't.
Is it that the energy companies all support the high energy comsumption of todays lights and appliances that they fund and lobby against anything that will save us money and thus lower their profits? I don't know and I can only speculate in simplicity. You know if Cleveland gets the China lights other cities will follow. Come on American light producers, stop whining and complaining and up your game and compete for a change. We didn't support your bottom line all these years for you to resist change and progress. Less fanfare, more product, make mine green please!
You guys would not have to debate this stuff if American manufactures would just put the green stuff on the market, the product speaks for itself. In this case saving money via a Chinese product and jobs via a Chinese company, who missed the opportunity? All you biz and politicians started this global competing, you didn't think you were also going to make the rules too? You can't cry not fare, you can't say I'm going to take my ball home. You guys all ruined the home field advantage and now you're boo whooing. Either step up your game or get a green card in China (they have jobs!).
and China leads in wind energy
China leads the WORLD now in wind energy and are leaping ahead in all technology. They offer subsidy to citizens to buy hybrid cars rather than tax abatements to corporations. Imagine that.