Many of Wrightsville Beach’s yellow glowing streetlights were recently switched to LED lights whose bright, white glare could pose a minor nuisance to residents and a major disturbance to sea turtle hatchlings.
Fifty of the town’s 400 streetlights now use LED lights, a switch town manager Tim Owens said will eventually take effect throughout town. The brighter lights make the streets safer, last longer, use 40 percent less energy and are cheaper to maintain.
“At this point we’re going to reevaluate, and it’s really a decision the board will have to make. But in the long run, everything is going to LED lights whether we do it next week or a year from now,” Owens said.
Although Duke Energy owns the lights, the switch to LEDs will save the town an estimated $10,000 annually.
The Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen voted in December 2014 to allow Duke to switch out the lights. The first lights were installed around the town hall municipal campus so residents, staff and town leaders could determine whether to proceed with the rest of the town.
As more lights get installed, some residents have complained, saying they are disruptive. Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project coordinator Nancy Fahey is also worried the brighter lights will affect turtle nest hatchings.
Years ago, the town passed a resolution to protect sea turtles, she said. The vicinity of a few of the streetlights caused problems for hatchlings in the past, before any LED lights were installed.
Sea Turtle Project volunteers place a black silk barrier around the nests in part to shield them from streetlights but when the hatchlings emerge from the shelter of the barrier they get confused. That happened this past summer with a nest north of Hanover Seaside Club, Fahey said.
“We noticed that once they got down the beach far enough that the light was within sight, they got very confused and started turning around,” Fahey said. “It was a very stressful experience and it was because of the streetlight.”
While Fahey said she wasn’t aware any LED lights were being installed, she hopes if the lights near the beach are switched out the town finds a way to shield the glare, possibly with a shield that blocks light directed toward the beach.
Owens said the town has adjusted or shielded certain LED lights already based on resident concerns, but the situation has to be deemed a real nuisance.
“If there’s a pole that’s tilted upwards and shining toward somebody’s house more than others, or the lights are actually tweaked upwards, we could address that by fixing the trajectory of the light or putting a shield on the pole,” he said. “Obviously we can’t put shields on every light in town.”
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