Brown University students gathered with U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse earlier this month to celebrate the installation of 65,665 compact fluorescent lamps in 4,925 low-income Rhode Island households since March 2008.

Through Brown’s student-run program, Project 20/20, a part-time work force swept through Ocean State homes armed with high-efficiency light bulbs paid for by Wal-Mart and Brown University. The university said as many as 68 students worked for the program at its peak.

The students also partnered with Rhode Island Interfaith Power & Light’s (RIIPL) “religious response to global warming” to help carry out the program.

“Energy efficiency programs deliver significant savings to customers and help drive broad economic growth,” said Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “The Brown 20/20 Program and RI-IPL initiatives are doing a great job of promoting efficiency here in Rhode Island, and I’m hopeful we can all learn from their example as we craft energy and climate policy at the federal level.”