The first phase of a new solar farm has been completed and is now operational on the grounds of the Monart Destination Spa in Co Wexford.
The solar farm will power the spa, Hotel Kilkenny, and Ferrycarrig Hotel, all of which are part of the Griffin Hotel Group.
The group has been rolling out a long-term strategic sustainability plan under the direction of Kieran McCrea from Clevernet and energy consultant specialist Ken Mc Elhinney, who is now the group’s director of sustainability.
Mr McCrea has been assisting the group with its energy mapping and providing real-time management data to understand the company’s energy profile and where savings can be made.
The company has invested substantial capital in deploying building controls for heating and cooling with an aggressive efficiency replacement plan for plants, pumps, and lighting.
Bio-mass boilers have also been installed along with combined heat and power units and support for electric vehicle charging has been put in place.
Real-time monitoring of energy is also in place to measure and improve the sustainability and efficiency of providing services to hotel guests.
A capital investment of €750,000 was spent on the first phase. This consists of an array of ground-mounted solar panels with a 500-kilowatt peak. The second phase is currently in development planning with ESB Networks.
This additional phase will see the rollout of a further 1-megawatt peak array, giving the final Monart Solar Farm the capacity of 1.5-megawatt peak energy creation which will offset the energy demand for the three properties.
It is the aim of the group to complete phase two of the Monart Solar Farm within the next 12 months.
Mr Mc Elhinney said: “Energy is a significant part of our sustainability plan; but at the Griffin Hotel Group, we are also focused on water usage, waste, packaging and transport initiatives.
“We aim for real improvements across all these headings over the next 10 years. We are determined to drive further sustainable results.”
