WALTHAM, MASS.—EuroSite Power Inc., an On-Site Utility offering clean electricity, heat, hot water and cooling solutions to hospitality, healthcare, housing and leisure centers in the United Kingdom (UK) and Europe, announced that it has extended its agreement with The Ability Group by adding a contract to supply clean energy to the Doubletree by Hilton Dunblane Hydro hotel. Under the terms of the 30-year agreement, the company will install and operate a combined heat and power (CHP) system which will produce up to 200 kW of power or approximately 1.63 MWh of total energy per year. The Ability Group will receive...

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y—Evolve Guest Controls will install a fully integrated lighting control and automation control system featuring the new Evolve AI Interactive Touch Screen Controller, the new glass LCD Director Series, as well as an Evolve motorized shading system, at the Quin Hotel in New York City. When guests enter their rooms, they will be greeted with a customized lighting scene, a comfort thermostat temperature, as well as the opening of the motorized shades. While in the room, the guests will be able to control their thermostat, lighting, and shades wirelessly from the bedside as well as indicate privacy...

RICHARDSON, TEXAS—VingCard Elsafe announced that its Orion energy management system has won a Star Award from Top Hotel, Germany’s most subscribed hotel industry trade publication. Orion was honored in the Technology category, which was voted on by more than 2,500 Top Hotel readers as part of the magazine’s annual competition. The award was presented during the recent InterNorga hospitality trade show in Hamburg. Orion by VingCard Elsafe is comprised of wireless digital thermostats, occupancy sensors, door position interfaces, remote server software and a comprehensive dashboard reporting interface. The room control dashboard provides an overview of guestroom electronic systems, including occupancy...

NEW YORK—Greenwood Energy, the North American renewable energy division of the Libra Group, announced its engagement to install the first combined heat and power plant for the Millennium Hilton Hotel in New York. It is a further addition to Greenwood Energy’s rapidly developing clean power generation offering. “This expansion of Greenwood Energy’s operations in clean and efficient power generation for the hotel sector is blazing a trail for the industry in North America, where alternative power generation is beginning to make a real breakthrough,” said Greenwood Energy’s CFO, Douglas Johnsen. “Adding the Millennium Hilton to our portfolio puts us in...

DELAVAN, WIS.—When the husband-and-wife team of Fritz Kreiss and Catherine McQueen learned that a two-lane highway adjacent to their five-acre property in Delavan, Wis. would be expanded to four lanes they could have tried to sell the land with their cottage on it. Instead, they decided to build perhaps North America’s greenest lodging establishment—the 19-suite Green Leaf Inn that will be a net zero energy property. Net zero energy properties generate more energy than they consume. The Green Leaf Inn is scheduled to open in the spring of next year.It is the owners’ intention for the inn to serve...

KAPAAU, HAWAII—Guests staying at the boutique-style Hawaii Island Retreat on Hawaii Island’s North Kohala coast can choose to stay in one of the Retreat’s nine lavishly appointed guestrooms or “rough” it a little bit and stay in one of the property’s seven well-appointed yurts. No matter what accommodations are chosen, guests have the satisfaction of knowing they are staying in a place that is off the grid—powered by the sun and wind.The Hawaii Island Retreat is nearing its third anniversary. It opened on April 1, 2009. Jacque Waters, associate director at the property, said the owners—Jeanne Sunderland and Robert...

PHOENIX—Phoenix-based Easy Energy has just announced the completed installation of a solar water heating system at the newly renovated Holiday Inn North Phoenix. The solar water heating system is designed to harvest and store 3,000 gallons of solar heated water each day for the hotel’s 174 guestrooms. “Solar Water Heating is an effective and reliable renewable technology for the Phoenix climate,” says Brian Bartel, managing member of Easy Energy. “Solar water heating can easily compete with natural gas for heating water by partnering with local suppliers, capturing state utility rebates and engaging financiers who seek to invest in renewable technology.” The...

NEW YORK—An industry leader in room air conditioners, Haier is introducing a new line of Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs) designed to offer reliability, quality, and comfort for consumers who are the end users of traditional PTAC applications. Applications include hotels and motels, senior care facilities, dormitories, military housing, and some residential applications. For many years now, Haier has dedicated itself to making home comfort products that are energy efficient, quiet, easy to maintain, and most importantly, that cool or heat properly and efficiently. With this in mind, Haier’s PTAC line includes features like an attractive digital thermostat module that...

CHICAGO—Six hundred bucks is not a bad monthly electricity bill for a 15-story, 63-room urban hotel. Granted, The Ivy Hotel has not opened yet but general manager James Cazares says public space lighting has been burning 24/7. Key to the tiny bill last month is LED recessed lighting—MR16 bulbs that consume just one watt each. LED lighting is just one of the many green facets of the luxury boutique Chicago property set to open at the end of April.Just over a block from Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Near North neighborhood, The Ivy Hotel was once an office building. The...

SECAUCUS, N.J.—The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded Panasonic Home & Environment Company a 2012 Energy Star Sustained Excellence Award in recognition of its continued leadership in manufacturing innovative and energy efficient ventilation fans. Panasonic’s accomplishments will be recognized at an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. on March 15, 2012, which marks the 20th anniversary of Energy Star. An Energy Star Partner of the Year in 2011 and 2010, Panasonic Home & Environment Company will be honored with the EPA’s most prestigious award for its long-term commitment to sustainability. With the highest efficacy (up to 23.3 cubic feet...