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    DC’s Kimpton Hotel Monaco installing 265-kW Rooftop Solar

    Jan. 13, 2023
    The system at the 184-room hotel will feature more than 590 solar panels, which are expected to produce over 316,000 kWh of on-site energy per year, and nearly 7 million kWh over the system’s anticipated lifespan of more than 20 years
    Image credit Difference Engine. Wikimedia Commons
    Kimpton Hotel Monaco 63c1923fdc712

    Kimpton Hotel Monaco Washington DC has teamed up with New Columbia Solar to install a 265-kW rooftop solar system at its National Historic Landmark building in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

    The system at the 184-room hotel will feature more than 590 solar panels, which are expected to produce over 316,000 kWh of on-site energy per year, and nearly 7 million kWh over the system’s anticipated lifespan of more than 20 years. At peak production, it will provide up to 20% of the hotel’s electricity needs.

    Bill Hanley, Director of Sales and Marketing for Hotel Monaco DC, said, “The addition of the new solar panel system marks a critical milestone in the building’s history and underscores Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants’ commitment to creating an environmentally-responsible experience for guests.”

    According to the hotel, the design of the project prioritized minimal impact on the historic structure, including the usage of non-penetrative racking attachments and keeping equipment out of public view to not affect the guest experience.

    “Working on a Federal Historic Landmark building is a monumental achievement for us," said New Columbia Solar’s CEO Mike Healy. "This pivotal project is an example of how the District's historic preservation, modernization, and climate priorities can be successfully blended, embodying the commitment to expand locally-sourced solar energy in the District. We continue our efforts to make it as easy as possible for property owners like Hotel Monaco to go solar in the hopes that many more historic buildings will follow suit.” 

    The hotel also has several other green practices in place, including recycling bar soap, using energy-efficient LED lightbulbs, HVAC units, toilets, sourcing ingredients from nearby farms, and composting and recycling materials.

    Occupying an entire city block in Penn Quarter, the boutique hotel opened in the summer of 2002. It is located within the historic General Post Office building built in 1839.

    New Columbia Solar is a Washington, D.C.-based solar energy company, financier, owner, and operator of commercial and industrial solar energy projects.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.