Westin St. Maarten plans to Install Solar Power Photovoltaic System

Westin Hotel St. Maarten installs 119+ Kw Solar Power Electric System

It is the Caribbean's First Major Hotel to be partially powered with solar power. The Westin Dawn Beach, St. Maarten hotel has installed a solar panel power system on its roof.

Owners of The Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, contracted with Caribbean Energy Store B.V. to get their solar power system up and running.

In April 2013, Anthony Prall Jr., C.E.O. of the Caribbean Energy Store B.V. designed a solar power electric system to facilitate the 317 guest rooms, restaurant’s, laundry facilities, spa, and hotel pool.

This 119+ Kilowatt hour system will cut a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions from entering our Earth’s atmosphere and reduce the demand on the islands electric grid.  

This first phase of solar electric power will be providing 650 kilowatt hours a day on average.  

Anthony Prall Jr. a Caribbean Solar Power Professional designed the solar photovoltaic system of panels to be located on top of The Westin’s immense white roof.  A key component is its unique Fast Rack Fully ballasted with a Power Grip mechanical attachment option.  Manufactured from high density polyethylene (HDPE) with built-in UV inhibitor and low point loading, made in USA (ARRA compliant) with recycled/recyclable content, Sollega USA. This system has no roof penetrations,
a special design of Ballast Weight with roof heat welding holds it all in place even in 125 mph winds.

This Photo voltaic solar power system got a big Green start on July 5th of 2013 at 10 am when
Anthony Prall turned on the system after a 5 minute computer count down the system came on with its four hundred eighty solar panels, Suntech 290 watt polycrystalline panels. The 119+kilowatt solar system features 480 panels that are being installed by the Caribbean Energy Store B.V. of St. Maarten.

Second phase with a 3 inverter system with 1200 additional panels when completed will be:

a  348 KWp PV system @ 6.0 hours a day 2088 kw per day = $751.00 day at Electric current rate.  $ 275,000 a year or $ 8 million, 250 thousand dollars over 30 years of system lifetime.

We look forward to working with Westin Dawn Beach on clean energy and related sustainability initiatives in order to achieve the environmental and economic goals that we in the Caribbean.
 

The Westin ’s solar system include:

• More than 36 percent of the hotel’s 317 guestrooms will now be powered by solar;  

(112 rooms) .
• More than 40.0 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions and 35,500 pounds of nitrogen oxide emissions will be avoided over the next 30 years;
• Preventing 4875 tons of oil from being burned over the next 30 years; and
• The equivalent of planting 2,500 trees annually.

The system will generate over $8,250,000 in savings and revenue over its 30 year expected life.

"There is a capital outlay, and the owners realize the costs don't compare to the additional business that you do bring in. From the goodwill you create in the community. From the goodwill you create with the employees. There are a lot of additional paybacks other than just the pure financial payback," said Dan Szydlowski. The solar panels will produce 762,000 kilowatt-hours per year, or about 36 percent of the total electricity use of the property. It is about equal to the power needed to provide electricity to power 112 hotel rooms. 

The resort began taking advantage of the abundant sunshine in 2006 when it used solar panels to heat the property’s hot water for guest rooms.

Dan Szydlowski, Regional Manager, states, “With sunshine nearly guaranteed year round, we saw only positive attributes to making this capital and environmental investment.”

Once the expanded solar project is 1/3 complete in June 2013, more than 30 percent of the resort’s energy will be solar based and enough to operate parts of the resort from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Szydlowski continues, “This is just the start to operating in strictly solar mode for six hours per day.”

The solar system will produce more than 350 Kilowatt hours of electricity per hour .

The solar power system is projected to save the hotel more than $8,250.000 dollars in averted energy costs over the next 30 years. "If it didn't make financial sense we wouldn't do it.

The Westin hotel is looking in the future to making an entire hotel with rooms powered by the solar panels."

"We believe guests will request to stay in the only solar-powered rooms," said . Dan Szydlowski  Westins general manager.

According to Anthony Prall Jr. the Caribbean Energy Stores C.E.O. “We are excited to see more St. Maarten  property owners who are motivated to generate clean, renewable energy as part of the expanding green economy. Solar projects like this are generating employment opportunities for our New Country in a sustainable manner.

The installation was designed and installed by the Caribbean Energy Store B.V. of St. Maarten.
It includes 1200 Suntech STP-290 solar panels and three SGI 100KW inverters manufactured by Massachusetts based Solectria Renewables. The products provided are among the most efficient and aesthetically pleasing in the industry. The solar system will produce 23 million kilowatt hours (KWh) displacing 40 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. This much clean energy is equivalent to powering 500 typical homes for 30 years or driving 40,000,000 miles in an SUV.

The system includes a state of the art web-based monitoring system that provides a graphic interface to historical and real-time solar energy production data. Monitoring allows for greater visibility of the energy production and the information is utilized for both operational and educational purposes.