Australian hotels: renewable energy pioneers
Hotels and resorts around Australia are now the cleantech trail blazers and first movers for green technology.
Luxury resorts around Australia and the Maldives are now fully powered by solar power plus storage.
All this has increased the pressure on hotels and resorts that have not committed to cleantech.
Dr. Thomas Hillig Energy Consulting, from THEnergy in Munich, Germany says these initiatives have a lot of marketing potential. What they do is set the hotels up as standouts in a new target segment of the market.
“Several resorts have realised their first installations and are looking at increasing their renewable energy share,’’ Hillig said.”Typically, several solutions compete, such as integrating another type of renewable energy or storage.”
“In the hospitality sector, we see big differences in the readiness for renewable-energy commitment and willingness to be a first mover for new cleantech technologies.”
Some large hotel chains have dedicated cleantech departments, and some owners of smaller establishments are extremely eco-minded. “With our online platform for renewables on islands, we have already made a first step toward a particularly interesting sub-segment,’’ he said.
"We have learned that the economic framework conditions are extremely positive and that we, as a consultancy, due to considerable market intransparency, can add huge value for both – hotels and resorts and renewable energy players. This is why we are establishing cleantech for hotels and resorts as a second consulting focus – besides renewables for mining.”
He said each hotel is unique and has different requirements.
Tracking technology developments, THEnergy helps hotels and resorts identify and create solutions according to their specific needs.
“For windsurfing or kitesurfing resorts, new wind technologies might be more interesting than solar,’’ he says. “For a desert resort, vice versa. For some island resorts, wave energy might be the preferred option.”
by Leon Gettler, August 18th 2016
