Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. will partner with one of the country’s largest solar system developers to install solar arrays on a number of its properties.
NRG Energy Inc., through its NRG Solar L.L.C. subsidiary, will initially install solar systems on three Starwood properties. The systems themselves will be owned and operated by NRG Solar, with Starwood purchasing the electricity they generate through a multi-year purchasing agreement.
The systems include a 1.3-megawatt solar array that will be installed at the Westin St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. NRG Solar is among the largest developers of solar systems in the U.S., with more than 2,000 megawatts of solar photovoltaic and solar thermal projects in operation, under construction or in development across the southwest U.S.
Ken Siegel, chief administrative officer and general counsel for Starwood, said the Stamford hotel developer  has committed to reducing its energy consumption by 30 percent and its water consumption by 20 percent throughout its global hotel and resort portfolio by 2020.
“We are making great progress against those goals through a variety of programs in place around the world, and we’re pleased to partner with NRG to be able to provide affordable and sustainable electricity that will benefit the environment, our guests and our business,” Siegel said in a prepared statement.
David Crane, NRG’s president and CEO, said in a statement that solar “is well on its way to becoming the most cost-effective, environmentally beneficial and aesthetically pleasing energy option for any consumer-facing business.”
