Huge new solar array powers Calif. resort

Denver-based Xanterra Parks & Resorts has taken sustainability in the hospitality sector to the next level. In California’s Death Valley National Park, the resort managers have constructed one of the largest solar arrays in the nation to supply power to the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort, Furnace Creek Golf Course and employee offices and housing.

The five-acre photovoltaic system will generate a third of Xanterra’s energy requirements in Death Valley, and will prevent 29,000 tons of CO2 emmissions over the next three decades.

“Xanterra is exceptionally proud of this system because it illustrates what one company can do with a systemic environmetal program and a long-term approach to sustainable operations,” said Andrew N. Todd, Xanterra’s president and CEO.

With five conference rooms totaling 4,000 square feet, the meeting facilities at Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch can accommodate up to 125 people. Also, the Death Valley property features the “world’s lowest golf course.” The resort is open from mid October through mid May.


| World Headlines for June 30, 2008

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