The City of Asheville is in the second stage of installing 3,643 LED street lights made by Durham-based Cree.

The installation is projected to create annual savings in energy and maintenance costs of $260,000, Cree reported.

The LEDway street lights being installed by Asheville is a product line that Cree acquired last year when it purchased Wisconsin-based Ruud Lighting for $525 million.

The initial phase of the Asheville project involved the installation of 730 street lights.

Cree is one of the Triangle's largest home-grown companies with about 2,000 workers in Durham and more than 5,800 worldwide. The company produces its own LED light fixtures as well as making components that other companies use in their lighting products. Its LEDs also are used for illuminating car dashboards, cellphones, televisions and signs.