Cree, Inc, announced that the University of California, Davis, has joined Cree’s LED University program. The college has installed a Bi-Level "Smart" Parking Light System From Cree at its South Entry Parking Structure. By installing the 50 BetaLED light fixtures, the University will achieve an average of 50 percent in energy savings.

Chris Cioni, associate director of UC Davis facilities management, utilities division, commented on the new lights:

"With LED lighting, we are improving visibility and enhancing the safety of our parking structure while reducing energy consumption. We are also significantly reducing both maintenance costs and light trespass compared to the incumbent metal-halide technology. Deploying LED lighting in our parking facilities yields benefits in many areas, and we plan to evaluate LED lighting in other applications."

Also, the City of Indian Wells, California, has joined Cree’s LED City Program, converting much of the lighting in several public buildings to Cree LED light fixtures. MSNBC reports that the project was applauded by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:

"It is initiatives like these that have made California a world leader in energy efficiency," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I applaud the City of Indian Wells and the University of California, Davis for promoting the kinds of energy-efficiency measures that California needs to meet our aggressive goal of 33-percent renewable energy by 2020."

All circular recessed lighting in the buildings was converted to the Cree LR6 LED light, reducing electricity consumption by 80 percent. The City of Indian Wells plans to evaluate LED lighting for other municipal lighting applications to further increase its energy savings.