Renewable Energy and the Hotel Industr
Renewable energy is one of the fastest growing sectors in today's energy market. Energy from solar, wind, hydro power, tidal energy and biomass sources is being harnessed to provide energy that is both environmentally friendly and secure from the fluctuations of the international fossil fuel market. For many businesses, including the hotel and hospitality industry, utilizing on-site renewable energy generation can make economic sense, while having the added advantage of illustrating a company's commitment to a cleaner environment and a sustainable economy.
Hotels are energy intensive operations, with 24 hour demands for lighting, air conditioning, heating and hot water, food preparation and entertainment. In fact, annual energy costs for the entire hospitality sector in the UK top £1.3 Billion. Renewable energy systems can reduce peak loads and substantially benefit a hotel in terms of its overhead expenses and profitability. Renewable energy technologies can be integrated into the design for new hotels to maximize their effectiveness, or older buildings can easily be retrofitted to use cutting edge technology.
[...] Its feedstock was initially maize silage and cattle manure. What started as a strictly agricultural project has now expanded to service several other food-based businesses. Two years after construction Northwick Estates decided to diversify the feedstock of their anaerobic digester project and include food residues, coffee production residues, vegetable wastes, grass silage, oat silage, cattle manure and other waste materials from the food industry, as well as expired food. Presently, the facility has an extremely diverse feedstock mix, with over 20 different biomass materials being fed into the digester. [...]
[...] The intention of the fund is to 'leverage' private funding and not to replace it. Loans run from £50,000 to £1,000,000. The ReEnergise SmartEnergy Fund has an initial capital of million, with no "upper limit" on funding. It is solely aimed at SMEs and offers commercial loans typically between £25,000 and £250,000 to invest in energy efficiency measures and renewable energy systems. It is run by independent specialist financial services provider with seed funding from SI Capital. Standard interest rates do not apply and cost of financing will be based on a number of factors including the length of the borrowing period and the creditworthiness of the borrower. [...]
[...] It displaces the production of 46 Tonnes of CO2, and the expected payback Period is 10 years. With the massive hot water demands of most hotels, solar water heating makes a trmendious amount of sense : Wind Energy: Turning Costal Breezes Into Cash Although wind power generation is enjoying robust growth in the utility- scale electricity market, its use in commercial and business scale applications is somewhat limited. Wind turbines of a size significant enough to seriously offset the energy use in a medium to large-scale commercial building requires a tower height of at least 10 metres and must not be obstructed from prevailing winds by taller structures. [...]
[...] It has million in funds under management and focuses on projects lasting 10 years or more. Conclusion This dissertation has examined the question: Could renewable energy projects be implemented as part of a planned maintenance/refurbishment programme for hotel buildings? Current commercially viable technologies have been compared, along with the driving forces behind their market acceptance and increasing popularity. Contrasting commercial applications of the various technologies and looking at case studies available from existing literature gives us the reader a snapshot of some of the success stories as well as the roadblocks to successful implementation of a solar PV. [...]
[...] Reducing demand for electricity and gas is much cheaper than producing the same amount of energy by using wind or solar generation equipment. A common phrase in the energy business tells us that cheapest kilowatt hour is the one we don't and investments in lighting upgrades, insulation, sealing air leaks and even energy efficient appliances and heating and cooling equipment will pay back in just a few years, unlike renewable energy systems which often have paybacks of 15- 20 years (or more). [...]
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