First Marriott hotel in Latin America with a micro-electricity grid

The micro-grid will allow them to avoid the emission of 20.8 tons of Carbon (CO2) per year, generate economic savings, have energy coverage and increase resilience against any failure in the electricity flow.

A micro-electrical grid is an integrated system for the generation and distribution of energy in low or medium voltage composed of solar panels, batteries for storage, energy inverters and a control software that monitors the generation, storage and distribution of the energy produced. . Micro-grids can be controlled as individual entities or operated in parallel to the public grid without causing disturbances in it. They can intentionally operate independently of the grid to protect themselves during voltage fluctuations and / or any anomalies originating from the grid, providing an additional layer of reliability in customer operation while being partially supported by storage batteries.

The initiative stems from the company's sustainability pillars and the Marriott International Serve program, through which the hotel chain aims to positively impact the communities around the world where it operates.

“We plan to generate a benefit to the environment by reducing carbon emissions, while reducing electricity consumption. This action is consistent with the investments made since 2017 that affect sustainability as a central element to improve the experience of our guests ”, commented Daniel Grew, Strategic Director in Sustainability for CPG Hospitality.

The investment represents a major change in how the hotel will operate energy. The work began in March and will be ready in November of this year, generating more than 30 indirect jobs in the country.

For his part, Dennis Whitelaw, General Manager of Costa Rica Marriott Hacienda Belén, considers that “today's traveler, while enjoying a resort with all the comforts, looks for options that, in parallel, maintain a friendly operation with the environment, so that your visit is comfortable and does not represent a high impact on the environment. This initiative joins other actions that we carry out in favor of the environment, such is the case of planting trees".

The installation of the micro electrical network is in charge of the national company greenenergy® who are the representatives in Costa Rica of the brands that are being installed in the system.  

Heila Technologies of Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the brands that greenenergy® represents and is the providers of the Heila EDGE® optimization and control software, which will be used as the brain of the micro-network. Heila is known for implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning in her products, which is the most advanced architecture in the industry today.

“At greenenergy® we are constantly evolving, researching and innovating to offer clean energy solutions with the most advanced technology. They are solutions that contribute to the economic reactivation of the country, benefiting our clients in their triple profit objectives and, in this case, that contribute to the positioning of Costa Rica as an option for sustainable tourism ”, commented Fernando Ortuño, general director of greenenergy ® Costa Rica.  

“Our mission is to provide smart solutions to more sites that are focused on savings and resilience and we are proud to have been chosen by greenenergy® to bring the most advanced technology to CPG Hospitality and Enjoy Group. We will continue working in the future to provide more companies in Costa Rica and the region with the most advanced alternative of electrical micro-grids ”, added Francisco Morocz, CEO of Heila Technologies.