Home Energy Management Ten Percent of Fairmont D.C.’s Energy to Come from Wind Farms

Ten Percent of Fairmont D.C.’s Energy to Come from Wind Farms

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Fairmont Washington, D.C. has awarded a contract to Pepco Energy Services, a subsidiary of Pepco Holdings Inc., to supply the hotel with 10 percent wind power. Fairmont’s hotels and resorts have been dedicated environmental stewards since 1990 with the development of the company’s comprehensive Green Partnership program, designed to minimize its properties’ operating impacts on the environment.

“Every business has a responsibility to be environmentally responsible,” says George Terpilowski, general manager.

The three-year contract calls for Pepco Energy Services to supply the 415-room Fairmont Hotel with more than 3 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity generated from renewable resources. Beginning in March 2007, 10 percent of the energy will come from wind farms located in the Mid-Atlantic region.

“Pepco Energy Services is pleased to be supplying environmentally-friendly wind energy to The Fairmont Washington, D.C.,” says John Huffman, COO of Pepco Energy Services.

Pepco Energy Services currently supplies 100 percent renewable resources to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum on Ellis Island, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C.

Green Initiatives Stack Up

In addition to purchasing wind power, The Fairmont Washington, D.C.’s associates have created an Environmental Committee and developed a number of programs incorporating the environmental mantra of “reduce, reuse and recycle” into the hotel’s daily operating practices. A brief sampling of these initiatives includes:

• The installation of a hydrocarbon-powered dry cleaning machine, replacing the toxic chemical Perc with DF-2000, an environmentally friendly product that does not produce toxic wastes or hazards.
• Recycling white paper in the heart of the house and purchasing copy paper made with a high percentage of recycled material.
• Holding Earth Day cleanup and planting events with a neighborhood school.
• Recycling aluminum cans, newspaper, cardboard and glass in all guestrooms, as well as light bulbs, batteries, ballasts, textiles, oils and fats.
• Installing low-flow showerheads and toilets in guestroom bathrooms and public restrooms.
• Encouraging associates to use public transportation by offering MetroCheck, a program enabling hotel staff to purchase monthly MetroRail, MarcTrain and VRE passes with pre-tax dollars.
• Using compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Light motion sensors are used in administrative areas and dimmers are used in meeting rooms.
• A new energy efficient/water saving dishwasher is now in the hotel’s banquet kitchen.
• New energy saving ovens are now in use in the main kitchen and the pastry kitchen.
• Hospitality Suites have new digital thermostats.
• The Penthouse has new variable speed drives for cooling towers.
• In 2006, the hotel reduced its electricity consumption by 2 percent—a savings of $16,000.

Go to Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

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