Leasing your lighting? Cree’s Swoboda says it’s already happening

Interesting article about Cree Inc., Durham, N.C., at www.xconomy.com in which Chuck Swoboda, the company’s CEO says Cree could also get in the business of leasing light to customers:

"“In this “lighting-as-a-service” model, a company owns and operates the lighting fixtures. Customers, such as businesses or cities, lease light as needed from the fixture operator. Swoboda says these capabilities come from the fact that what people think of as a light bulb now actually represents very sophisticated technology. “It’s not a light bulb, it’s an electronic device,” Swoboda says."