How SA hotels are going green, Hotels in South Africa equipped with rooftop solar panels, water-efficient fittings, energy-saving minibars, and even a vertical farm already form part of Radisson’s goal of complete decarbonisation.
The Radisson Hotel Group, with more than 1,700 hotels worldwide, is on a mission to be net zero or carbon neutral by 2050. In South Africa, where it has 14 properties, the company has already begun to introduce sustainable practices involving energy, water, construction, and food. How SA hotels are going green, Radisson’s move to renewable energy comes amid South Africa’s worsening power crisis, typified by protracted bouts of load shedding as a result of the country’s ageing and poorly maintained coal-powered fleet. In addition to offsetting carbon emissions and reducing demand on the national grid, the hotel group’s rooftop solar panel projects also offer some protection against blackouts,Rooftop solar at the Park Inn by Radisson in Cape Town’s Foreshore was its first large-scale commercial hybrid photovoltaic and thermal (PVT) project. A total of 30 hybrid solar panels generate both thermal energy, which heats the hotel’s water up to 70°C, and photovoltaic electricity.
This double effect, of saving energy which would usually be used to power geysers and the panels generating power, has massively reduced the hotel’s electricity bill. Around 55,000kWh of energy is being generated each year, the hotel group told Business Insider SA. Nearby, the Radisson RED Hotel at the V&A Waterfront is also playing a part in the company’s sustainability goals. How SA hotels are going green, This hotel was awarded a 5-Star Green Hotel As-Built rating by the Green Buildings Council of South Africa (GBCSA) in 2019. The V&A Waterfront’s Radisson RED Hotel also features solar panels, which generate 43.6kWp of electricity. It also has a vertical farm “to implement a fresh from farm to plate initiative” as well as 9lt/min water restrictors in the hotel’s shower heads. In Johannesburg, the Radisson RED Hotel in Rosebank was also awarded GBCSA certification for its sustainable design in April earlier this year. The base building is designed to be 60% more energy efficient than a comparable hotel, according to Radisson. Although the Rosebank hotel doesn’t draw power from the sun, it does have several water-efficient interventions to reduce its impact on the environment. It has fittings with 9lt/min water restrictors in the shower heads, 6lt/min taps, dual flush toilets, and 1l per flush urinals. Additionally, the Radisson hotel in Rosebank has a towel and linen reuse programme that saves electricity and water, along with energy-efficient televisions and minibars. The Radisson RED in Rosebank also has two electric vehicle charging points, while the V&A Waterfront hotel has four, “with plans to further expand this intervention across its hotels within the country,
Source: This news is originally published by businessinsider