Big lighting firm leads move to phase out incandescent bulb

A coalition led by Royal Philips Electronics is twisting the dimmer on Thomas Edison's famous invention.

from the March 14, 2007 edition

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Aiming to slow global warming through energy efficiency, a coalition led by the world's largest lighting manufacturer is planning to phase out energy-wasting incandescent light bulbs in the United States by 2016.

The push to retire Thomas Edison's 125-year-old invention was set to be unveiled Wednesday in Washington. The coalition includes Royal Philips Electronics, the Netherlands-based light-bulb manufacturer, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, and other environmental and energy-efficiency groups.

If it takes hold, the phaseout could save enough energy to eliminate the need to build 80 of the 150 or so coal-fired power plants now planned nationwide, the coalition estimates. That, in turn, would prevent about 158 million tons of carbon dioxide annually and save consumers $18 billion a year in electric costs.

"This old-style, inefficient light was a great invention that has now outlived its useful purpose," said Brian Dundon, chief executive officer of Philips's North American lighting division, in a statement.

It's not clear how much support a firm phaseout has. Notably absent from the coalition are General Electric, a leading US manufacturer, and bulbmaker Osram- Sylvania, the US division of German manufacturer Osram.

On March 2, a European trade group that includes the world's largest lighting manufacturers – GE, Siemens AG, and Philips – announced a pact to phase out incandescent bulbs in the European Union. That pact did not set a timetable, however.

"We think [a ban] is absolutely unnecessary," GE spokeswoman Kim Freeman told the Monitor earlier this month. "GE supports national policy that will drive improved energy standards for all lighting products, regardless of the technologies."

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