The completed installation will make the 133-room Courtyard by Marriott-Lancaster at 1931 Hospitality Drive the first Marriott-branded hotel in the United States with 100 percent of its electricity needs generated from solar power. It is also believed to be the first solar array in the country installed for the sole purpose of generating 100 percent of the electricity needs of a hotel.
The Lancaster-based, family-owned hotel developer, owner, and operator is working in partnership with Marriott International Inc. to install an array consisting of more than 2,700 ballasted photovoltaic panels, filling an area more than two football fields in size.
After evaluating several on-site and near-site alternatives, High Hotels decided to install the solar array on the roof of a nearby building in Greenfield Corporate Centre, a 600-acre master planned mixed-use campus with a strong track record of sustainable practices going back many decades. Using the existing roof saves more than three acres of open land and has additional aesthetic benefits. The solar array will produce 1,239,000 kWh of power for the hotel, which consumes 1,177,000 kWh. Any excess power will be sold to the utility.
“This is an exciting approach to addressing our energy needs that aligns very well with High’s commitment to environmental stewardship” said Russ Urban, president of High Hotels. “We’ve been advancing many environmentally responsible practices across our hotel portfolio, including converting the interior and exterior lighting at the Lancaster Courtyard to LED, which will lower electricity demand by 15 percent. Installing solar is another important step in this progression, and we will look to apply lessons from this as we expand our portfolio of premium select-service hotels.”
High Hotels received a grant of $504,900 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority (CFA) through the Solar Energy Programme to complete the project. An independent agency of the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), the CFA is responsible for evaluating projects and awarding funds for a variety of economic development programmes, including the Solar Energy Programme. The project will receive a solar renewable energy credit which will be conveyed to the CFA to provide the agency with more funds to offer grants in the future.
Panels for the solar array will be Q Cells manufactured by Hanwha Cells Co., Ltd., headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. Meadow Valley Electric Inc., based in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, will install the array in the second and third quarters of 2018 with commissioning targeted for September 2018.
Image: Pictured left to right atop the roof with the array are Mike Lorelli, Sr. Vice President, Commercial Asset Management, High Associates Ltd.; Jeremy Geib, General Manager, High Hotels Ltd.; Russ Urban, President, High Hotels Ltd.; and Jim Baxter, Manager of Facilities, High Associates Ltd.
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