Big Isle resort
By Jerry Tune
warms up
to solar power
Star-BulletinSolar power again is helping save electricity costs for the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel & Bungalows. The Big Island resort installed photovoltaic rooftop panels on its hotel in February, and recently did the same thing for golf operations.
The 110 kilowatt photovoltaic system covers the 12,000-square-foot roof on the two golf maintainence buildings and will take care of about half the power needs for the golf clubhouse, pro shop and the clubhouse restaurant.
The solar power also will be used to recharge all Mauna Lani golf carts. The work was finished Sunday.
"The project will generate an internal rate of return greater than 25 percent and save over $1.5 million in net operational savings over a 25-year period," said Dan Shugar, executive vice president of PowerLight Corp. of Berkeley, Calif., which did the installation.
Neil Bustamante, Mauna Lani's vice president and general manager of golf operations, agreed with the economic projections. The resort spent about $750,000 for the golf solar system, and should recoup that in savings in seven years, he said.
"We are also doing retrofits on four golf carts, using the same solar panels, so they can recharge while they are in use," Bustamante said.
In May, the Mauna Lani installed a 80 kilowatt solar system to supply power for about 20 percent of its 350 hotel rooms. The installation covered 10,000 square feet, or about 70 percent of the hotel roof.
PowerLight Corp. said its PowerGuard roof system has exceeded its power production expectations.
"The first phase did 108 percent of its projected performance," Shugar said.
Photovoltaic systems use silicon cells to capture solar energy and turn it into electricity.
Shugar estimates that photovoltaic energy could be used by 320 to 450 buildings in Hawaii, including hotels, stores, factories and state facilities.
