High-mast lighting changes reduce energy costs Published May 23, 2011 By Wayne Crenshaw 78 ABW/PA ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Team Robins members who are here at night may soon find the base looking a little darker in some areas. A $730,000 energy project which began last September is nearing an end. It will help the base better control the use of its many high-mast lights, particularly where and when they aren't needed. J.M. Clayton Co., a Thomaston contractor, has been installing the system, which will allow the lights to be controlled from two touch-screen control panels - one in Bldg. 1555, the 78th Civil Engineer Group building, and the other in Bldg. 125, the C-5 maintenance hangar. The lights are currently operated by photocells, which automatically activate the lights when it gets dark. "It will give us complete flexibility and control," said Adrian Bell, project engineer with the 78th Civil Engineering Group. Lights in areas used around the clock, such as in the flightline area, will remain operable. Bell said the system will come in handy during certain special operations. For instance, earlier this year the Marine helicopter squadron at Robins did a nighttime parachuting exercise which required the entire base to go dark. Each of the high-mast lights had to be turned off individually. With the new system, the lights can be turned off at once.