FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.—Costa Dorada Associates, Miami, is behind an effort to install six 40-foot, 4 kilowatt wind turbines on the roof of its 375-key Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort. The turbines will be positioned on each corner and center of the hotel’s rooftop. Installation is expected to begin in September with completion by the end of the year. The estimated cost is $500,000, part of which Costa Dorada Associates hopes to pay through rebates from state and federal government.
Andreas Ioannou, general manager, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort, said the wind turbines are part of a larger effort to increase the percentage of electricity provided through renewable energy technologies. The six turbines, which Ioannou described as “pieces of art” because of their oval shape and intertwining blades, are the first step in a process that will also include rooftop solar panels in 2013 and possibly even street-level wind turbines in another two or three years.
The first six turbines are expected to supply about 5 percent to 10 percent of the hotel’s electricity. The solar panels could meet another 5 to 10 percent.
“If we can get up to 25 percent [renewable energy], it will be quite an accomplishment,” Ioannou says.
Hurricane Risks Considered
Discussions about the wind turbines began four years ago. The City of Fort Lauderdale, Ioannou says, has been very receptive to the project. It will take one—possibly two cranes—to install the turbines. The poles on which the turbines will rest can be folded down in the event of a hurricane.
Saving energy has been a priority of the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort since opening in 2007. The resort was the first hotel in Broward County to be awarded a Florida Green Lodging designation by the State of Florida Department of Environmental Protection for going above and beyond environmental regulations and voluntarily implementing hotel conservation programs that protect Florida’s environment.
The property’s exterior glass has been manufactured not only for hurricanes but also alleviates the heating from sunlight entering into the interior of the building.
The resort’s Green Team oversees and spearheads the many programs the hotel has implemented for waste reduction, resource conservation and energy efficiency. Recycling all paper, fluorescent bulbs, lighting and batteries as well as the installation of automatic water flush-o-meters in all public restrooms are some of the programs the resort has initiated.
As a member of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts portfolio, Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort utilizes LightStay, a proprietary system that analyzes and reports sustainability performance.
Go to the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.
