A Westin hotel in the Caribbean island of St. Maarten is the first in the chain and in the Caribbean region to go solar. Tapping solar power is more common among boutique hotels, but is still new at large resorts like this hotel, the Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa, which has 317 rooms. The hotel owner Columbia Sussex Corp. installed 480 Suntech solar panels on its rooftop.
Texas utility Austin Energy will add 570 MW of wind power from three wind power purchase agreements, now that it has received approval from Austin's City Council, according to North American Windpower. The agreements are for contracts that expire in 2015, but despite the short period, the utility says this will bring its total portfolio up to 1,225 MW and enable it to meets its 2020 renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 35 percent renewable energy.
Cornerstone Sustainable Energy has struck a deal with land development company Warner Mountain Energy to develop a geothermal project at Surprise Valley Hot Springs at Cedarville, Calif. the Wall Street Journal reports. The location contains several hot springs and Cornerstone will use them to heat up its PwrCor engine to generate 250 kW of electric power with 150 gallons per minute of water at 180 degrees Farenheit, which can lead to 1.5 MW of constant, continuous power.
Twelve out of 21 public schools in Campbell County, Tenn. will install solar that will generate nearly $1 million over 20 years for the schools, without raising money through additional taxes, RenewableEnergyWorld.com reports. The schools have partnered with Efficient Energy of Tennessee and will install 50 kW systems that will sell energy to the Tennessee Valley Authority.
