News for the Hospitality Executive |
Xanterra Installing One of the Largest Solar Photovoltaic
Energy Systems
in the Country at the The Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch
Resort,
Death Valley National Park;
.
Expected to Produce Two million
Kilowatt-hours per year of Clean Renewable Energy
DENVER, November 13, 2007 � Xanterra Parks & Resorts
(www.xanterra.com) has announced it will install one of the largest solar
photovoltaic (PV) energy systems in the country � and the largest system
in the U.S. tourism industry � in Death Valley National Park, the sunniest
place in the country. The one megawatt (MW) system will harness the sun�s
energy to generate more than one-third of the annual electricity needs
for Xanterra�s operations there, comprised of the Furnace Creek Inn, Ranch
and golf course and employee offices and housing.
Xanterra�s system in Death Valley will be one of the largest privately owned PV energy systems in the country, and easily the largest in the U.S tourism industry. Xanterra, the country�s leading national and state park concessioner, will fully own the system and the energy it produces. Over the next 30 years, Xanterra�s PV system will eliminate the emission of more than 284,000 tons of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide, primary contributors to global warming, acid rain and smog. This is equal to planting more than 54,200 trees and removing more than 3,700 cars from California�s highways. �This installation will result in significant benefits for the environment,�
said Andrew N. Todd, president and CEO of Xanterra Parks & Resorts.
�The sunny skies of Death Valley will make this system create a tremendous
amount of energy while reducing greenhouse gases. With this single development,
we will exceed President Bush�s new executive order � �Strengthening Federal
Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management� � that calls for
a three percent annual reduction of energy intensity or a total 30 percent
reduction by the end of fiscal year 2015 relative to fiscal year 2003.
And, obviously, reducing the amount of energy we purchase will reduce our
operating costs.�
The Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort (www.furnacecreekresort.com) in Death Valley National Park has been welcoming guests since the 1930s. The Furnace Creek Inn is a AAA Four Diamond-rated property featuring 66 rooms and two suites with a full array of amenities, fine dining, tennis courts and a spring-fed pool. Situated adjacent to the golf course, the Ranch features 224 rooms in a casual setting. Xanterra Parks & Resorts® (consisting of Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Inc. and Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C.) operates lodges, restaurants and other concessions at national parks and state parks and resorts. Xanterra Parks & Resorts is the country�s largest park concessioner. Xanterra operates concessions in the following locations: Yellowstone, the North Rim of Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Zion, Crater Lake, Death Valley, Rocky Mountain and Petrified Forest National Parks, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial; and at the Silverado Resort in Napa, Calif.; Gideon Putnam Resort and Spa in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. and eight Ohio State Parks. Its affiliate Xanterra South Rim, L.L.C. operates concessions at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Xanterra operates the Grand Canyon Railway in Williams, Ariz. |
Contact:
Xanterra Parks & Resorts
|
|