|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Boston Green Tourism Members,
Our next Boston Green Tourism meeting will be Thursday from 2:30 to 4:00 at Taj Boston in the in the Club Room on floor 15. Directions are here.
We'll hear about the Taj's recent green projects and about three technologies that will help hotels reduce their food waste and their energy bills. I hope you can come!
Dan
|
| MEETING AGENDA | |
Boston Green Tourism Meeting
August 1, 2013
Location: Taj Boston, The Club, floor 15
www.tajhotels.com/Luxury/map.htm?hotelid=TAJBOS
Host: Maureen Albright
2:30 to 2:40 Introductions
2:40 to 2:45 Update
Dan Ruben
2:45 to 2:55
Taj Boston: Insights abuot Recent Projects
Maureen Albright, Director of Engineering, Taj Boston
2:55 to 3:20 Preventing Food Waste in Hospitality
Andrew Shakman, President, CEO of LeanPath, Inc.
3:20 to 3:40 InfraRed Heating Solutions for Hotels
Shawn Whalen, Regional Manager Schwank USA
3:40 to 4:00 Bathroom Ventilation for Hotels: Using Energy Efficient Ventilation to Reduce Operating, Maintenance & Repair Costs
Bret Gundersen, Northeast Regional Sales Manager at Panasonic
4:00 Green Tour of Taj Boston
Maureen Albright
|
| IDEAS | |
Is it Time to Reconsider Solar Electricity?
If your facility has 5,000 square feet or more of unshaded or marginally shaded roof space, the answer may be "yes."
Solar electricity (PV) has become much more economical because panel prices have plunged, the federal tax incentives are rich and Massachusetts offers an income stream (Solar Renewable Energy Credits, or SREC's) for solar electricity production. Current projects have ROI's of 2 to 3 years. That ROI becomes more appealing when one considers the marketing value of solar installations.
With today's incentives, profitable businesses that can take advantage of the tax break and accelerated depreciation will often be "cash flow positive" in the first year. To do so, they must be willing to do the extra accounting and sell their SREC's annually.
Alternatively, hotels can sign a Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), in which the installer owns the solar panels and sells the electricity back to the business at an attractive price. PPA's allow hotels to install solar without having to dip into their capital budgets or do extra accounting and sell their SREC's.
Businesses must get approval for their solar projects with their electric utility before proceeding. That process is usually quick and the outcome is usually favorable.
Solect is a full service solar provider and BGT member that I recommend. They have with dozens of commercial installations across the state. Solect's Mike Fuce (774-245-5542) has worked on hotel and other business projects, and can advise you.
|
| NEWS |
|
The Green Certifications Earned by Boston Area Hotels
The chart below lists the current certifications for Boston area hotels. I took the information from the websites of each program.
My observations:
- Thirty-five Boston area hotels have at least one green certification, including 11 hotels that have multiple certifications. That's very impressive!
- The most popular certifications are Energy Star (17), Green Key (15) and TripAdvisor (14).
- Energy Star will become increasingly visible, because Boston, many other U.S. cities and the state of California have committed to posting the Energy Star scores for commercial buildings.
- TripAdvisor's program started in April. Already,14 Boston area hotels are certified. More consumers see the TripAdvisor certification than all of the other certifications combined.
|
|
| OPPORTUNITY | |
Boston Green Presentations are Available
I attached the list of BGT presentations to date, organized by category: energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management, indoor air quality / toxic use reduction, water use reduction, environmentally-friendly products, green transportation, marketing, food and other / multiple categories. We have had 194 presentations since 2005!
If you want to see the PowerPoint versions of any of the presentations, please contact me.
|
| ARTICLES |
Press Release, CityofBoston.gov.
Boston's Hubway program has been wildly successful. It has expanded to 113 stations in Boston, Cambridge, Brookline and Somerville, and averages 3800 trips per day.
These lights replace T8 and T12 fluorescent tubes. They are purported to use 50% less energy and last twice as long as the tubes they replace, and have a ROI of under 2 years.
|
|
2013 MEETINGS
| |
August 1: Taj Boston
September 12
October 24
December 5: Renaissance Boston Waterfront
See you Thursday at Taj Boston! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
