Energy-efficient lights are being installed in Darlington.
Darlington Borough Council hopes to save £28,000 a year by replacing the old mercury lights with the new, efficient white lights.
Almost half the lights in the borough are being replaced and Darlington is the first authority in the region to have a lighting scheme of this type.
More than 800 of the lamps have been installed in Darlington and Low Consicliffe.
A further 800 will be replaced in a rolling programme over the next two years.
The lamps use approximately a third of the energy used by the old lamps and each save £17 a year.
Coun Nick Wallis, the cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: "As an authority, we are constantly assessing what we do and how we do it with the view to increasing efficiency, saving money and, of course, helping the environment.
"Trials have revealed that this new type of street lamp will make significant savings for us."
The scheme has been so successful the council is considering extending it to include the small orange lights that are used in many parts of the borough.
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