ASHEVILLE, N.C.—The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa and FLS Energy of Asheville, N.C., have completed a project to add solar panels to the resort’s modern Sports Complex. The 12-panel solar thermal system at the Sports Complex will provide about 600 gallons of hot water a day for use in the locker rooms. The project was designed using a solar Power Purchase Agreement, in which FLS Energy built and installed the system on the roof of the complex with no up-front cost to The Grove Park Inn. Grove Park Inn will in turn purchase the thermal energy to heat the...

CHESAPEAKE, VA.—Solar Panels Plus (SPP) announces that the SplitCool DC-18 solar air conditioner has passed its TUV product safety testing and now carries the CE mark. Electrical, fire and mechanical safety issues have been properly addressed and the SplitCool unit now fully complies with global product safety standards. The SplitCool system design allows for operation between 5,000 BTU and 18,000 BTU, meaning that capacity, refrigerant flow and compressor speed are variable and are dynamically adjusted in real time to match the current conditions and heat load. The system is designed to use the lowest possible amount of electric power so...

SYRACUSE, N.Y.—The 58-room Hotel Skyler, set to have its soft opening here in Syracuse on April 1, could soon join the exclusive club of hotels that have earned LEED Platinum certification. There are just two other U.S. properties that have earned such a distinction—the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., and the Bardessono in Yountville, Calif. Hotel Skyler, which is pursuing the top-level LEED designation, is truly unique; it was first a synagogue constructed in 1921 and later a home for a theater group. According to Tom Fernandez, director of marketing for the Syracuse-based Woodbine Group, which owns Hotel Skyler,...

SEATTLE—Two Columbia Hospitality managed properties—Salish Lodge & Spa and Bell Harbor International Conference Center—announced the results of each property’s participation in the Greening Washington’s Lodging Industry pilot program. Spearheaded by the Washington Lodging Association (WLA) and Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc. (Cascadia), results of the program are intended to provide a roadmap to industry peers, guests and the public for adopting positive environmental practices throughout Washington State. The Greening Washington’s Lodging Industry program was funded by a $53,000 Public Participation Grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology, one of only 13 such grants funded in 2009. In January 2010, WLA...

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND—Against a background of rising world energy prices, ISO’s announcement of a third quarter 2011 target for publication of its ISO 50001 International Standard for energy management is particularly timely. ISO 50001 will help organizations to improve their energy performance, increase energy efficiency and reduce climate change impacts. ISO 50001 will establish a framework for industrial plants, commercial facilities or entire organizations to manage energy. Targeting broad applicability across national economic sectors, it is estimated that the standard could influence up to 60 percent of the world’s energy use. ISO 50001 is being developed by ISO project committee ISO/PC 242,...

SAN FRANCISCO—The Board of Supervisors of San Francisco recently passed green building legislation that will improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy costs, and create green jobs. The ordinance will require owners of existing non-residential buildings to determine how much energy each building consumes, and to make that information public on an annual basis. The ordinance will also require commercial buildings over 10,000 square feet to conduct energy efficiency audits every five years in order to help the building owners and managers optimize building efficiency. “San Francisco needs to increase the energy and resource efficiency...

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Ritz-Carlton, Charlotte became the first urban hotel in the Southeast to offer a permanently-installed Level II charging station for use by guests driving electric vehicles. The new multi-power station is located in the front drive of the LEED Gold-certified property, is complimentary to hotel guests, and supports the hotel’s commitment to environmentally-friendly practices and operations. The launch of the new Ritz-Carlton plug-in charging station was highlighted by the on-site presence of a Li-Ion Motors Inizio all-electric supercar, designed and built in nearby Mooresville, N.C. Li-Ion Motors is also the creator of the all-electric Wave II, which was on...

DALLAS—Lennox has developed a commercial HVAC unit that integrates directly with a solar-energy system. The patent-pending SunSource Commercial Energy System collects energy from the sun, feeds it directly into a solar-ready Energence rooftop unit, and supplies any excess electricity to the rest of the building or to the power grid. Designed to reduce business energy spending and emissions, the SunSource system can effectively double the Energence rooftop unit’s efficiency rating—from 17.0 SEER to an effective efficiency level of 34 SEER and beyond. In certain regions adding additional solar modules can help the rooftop unit achieve net-zero energy status, as the...

GARDEN CITY, N.Y.—Combining craftsmanship and old world styling with the flexibility and performance of modern track lighting, WAC Lighting introduces Cartier LED track luminaires. From the instrument-like engineering and hand finishes to the onyx crystal details, Cartier LED track luminaires have been designed for upscale residential and commercial spaces.  Utilizing state-of-the-art, multi-chip LED technology, this 12-watt luminaire projects a strong amount of light. With models offering a light output up to 625 lumens, Cartier exceeds Energy Star requirements and is a direct replacement for a 50-watt MR16. Cartier was crafted and designed exclusively in the company’s clean manufacturing campus with...

BOSTON—Some 4,000 renewable energy and green building experts will bring their cutting edge thinking—and very strong opinions—to Boston in March for the BuildingEnergy11 Conference and Tradeshow. Now in its 36th year, BuildingEnergy11 (BE11) is organized by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), and is the oldest and largest regional renewable energy event in the country. On Tuesday, March 8, three workshops at BE11 will highlight different constructs for gauging energy efficiency and environmental impact beyond the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system: Zero Net Energy, Passive House, and The Living Building Challenge. “NESEA believes in the...