Westin Ka`anapali Receives $200K Energy Efficiency Incentive

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa, State Senator J. Kalani English, and several county council members joined Hawaii Energy to present The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas with a check for $215,657. Photo courtesy of Brian Fitzgerald.

By Sonia Isotov

Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa joined public and private sector leaders today as Hawaii Energy, the conservation and efficiency program for Hawaii, Honolulu and Maui counties, presented The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas with a check for $215,657.

“Our dependence on foreign oil is one of our greatest liabilities, and it is going to take all of us working together to mitigate this. I applaud the team at The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas for leading by example, and doing their part to help us become more energy independent,” said Arakawa, in a written statement.

This incentive is the largest received to date by a Maui business from Hawaii Energy, a ratepayer-funded conservation and efficiency program administered by SAIC under contract with the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission.

Hawaii Energy offers cash rebates and other incentives to residents and businesses to help offset the cost of installing energy-efficient equipment.

Walter Enemoto his Hawaii Energy t-shirt. Photo courtesy of Brian Fitzgerald.

Today’s ceremony was held in recognition of extensive energy efficiency measures that The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas recently completed.  The four diamond resort’s energy efficiency retrofit included the replacement of over 9,500 incandescent lamps with energy-efficient, ENERGY STAR qualified LEDs, which reduces electricity use related to lighting by over 80%.

The property also added a control system that monitors the carbon monoxide levels in the garage, operating the ventilation exhaust fans only when needed.  This reduces fan operating times and energy consumption related to garage ventilation by over 99%.

Public and private sector leaders gathered to see the largest energy incentive in Maui be given to the Westin. Photo by Brian Fitzgerald.

The $385,353 project will save The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas an estimated 1,914,958 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy annually, a third of the electricity the property purchases from the utility each year. This is equal to $608,956 in savings, based on $0.318 per kWh.

Estimated payback for the project is less than six months, after the incentive.

“We are excited that The Westin Ka’anapali Ocean Resort Villas took advantage of one of our many existing offers to help bring such a large project to fruition,” said Ray Starling, Hawaii Energy Program Manager.

For more information, visit www.HawaiiEnergy.com.