Photovoltaic Installation at Fairmont Kea Lani Powers Up Today

Fairmont Kea Lani in Wailea, Maui. Photo courtesy of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.

The Fairmont Kea Lani in South Maui will hold a Power Up Celebration and blessing today to mark the completion of its photovoltaic installation project.

The 500 kilowatt, solar power installation generates 845,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, enough electricity to power 139 homes on Maui.

The project is expected to reduce the resort’s current energy demand by more than 10% and reduce CO2e emissions by 462 metric tons of CO2e annually. This reduction is the equivalent of removing 97 passenger cars from local roads per year.

The 1,528 panel solar installation was constructed in partnership with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Host Hotels and Resorts, Maui Electric Company, Resort Energy Ventures as the designer and project manager and HNU Energy as the contractor.

Fairmont Kea Lani General Manager, Charles Head said, “Fairmont Kea Lani’s commitment to social responsibility is deeply ingrained in the culture of the resort.  We are extremely proud to take a major step towards reducing the overall footprint of Fairmont Kea Lani with this important energy initiative and successful installation of our photovoltaic system.”

Created in 2001, Fairmont Kea Lani’s Sustainability Team is comprised of leaders and colleagues dedicated to proactively “greening” operations and cultivating an enduring connection to the land and community. The Sustainability Team to date has launched over 50 environmental initiatives at the resort.

Recent initiatives include replacement of aged laundry equipment to reduce gas, electricity and water consumption and new kitchen-hood systems with sensor based fan systems to reduce electricity use.

Fairmont Kea Lani’s Sustainability Team has also partnered with United States Fish and Wildlife Service and Department of Land and Natural Resources for the Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle Dawn Patrol Volunteer Program to ‘adopt’ a neighboring beach as part of an effort to support the critically endangered Hawksbill sea turtle.