In Search of an Urban Hotel Wind Turbine Installation

I recently had an e-mail conversation with the general manager of a prominent New York City hotel. He had an interest in knowing whether or not there are any urban hotels in the United States that are successfully using wind turbines. I scanned the list of Wind Powered hotels in our recently launched Renewable Energy All Stars section and found just one that had any kind of wind installation. The general manager of the New York hotel contacted the general manager of that hotel and discovered that they had only installed test windmills and were not happy with the company that had done the installation. Ultimately, the owners of the hotel decided that the windmills were too costly to move ahead with the project. I removed the hotel that had tested the windmills from our All Stars list.

Now there are no urban hotels in the United States that I am aware of that have a successful wind turbine installation. Why is this so? I am not a wind expert but space and cost are certainly considerations. There may also be regulations prohibiting tall structures. And, most wind turbines today (99 percent) are manufactured for towers, not rooftops. Typically urban hotels have very small land footprints, leaving the rooftop as the only viable place for a wind turbine. There just are not many cost-effective rooftop wind turbines available and those that are available can generate only a small amount of electricity for a 24/7 operation. If you are currently considering wind power for your urban property, I would love to talk to you. Perhaps if I share your story, others can learn from it.

By the way, I am aware of one new hotel brand that intends to incorporate wind power--Adoba Eco Hotel & Suites. It is my understanding that an announcement regarding the first Adoba property may be coming in the next two months. Be sure to leave your comments here or write to editor@greenlodgingnews.com.