The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

AN all-inclusive Andros dive resort is expecting to generate 20 per cent cost savings after being outfitted with solar heaters, its owner telling Tribune Business yesterday that high energy costs were a major challenge for all Out Island resorts.

Jeffrey Birch, owner of the 21-room Small Hope Resort, said he planned to present his model to other members of the Bahamas Out Island Promotion Board.

All 21 of his beachfront lodge’s cabins, and their lounges, kitchens and hot tubs, are now being heated solely by solar energy, making it one of the few resorts in the Bahamas to have done so.

“We’re very proud of it, given the fact that our electricity bill was extremely high at $0.42 cents per kilowatt hour. We did a quick audit report before, and we figured that it would be about 20 per cent cost savings in terms of direct electrical use. The cost savings is important,” said Mr Birch.

He explained that the resort still had propane heaters as back-ups. “We talk a lot about renewable energy, but small hotels, especially Bahamian-owned small hotels, are continuously fighting on this issue,” said Mr Birch.

“Making sustainable changes in a hotel costs a tremendous amount of money in initial infrastructure. We’re very proud of what we have done. It took quite bit of time. It’s been 10 years that we have been talking about it, and about a year-and-a-half in the making.

“We are going to share our outline with other hoteliers in the Out Island promotion Board.”

Mr Birch said that within the next three months he planned to initiate the design of a home unit for his 34 employees using “off the shelf materials”.

“This will be so that every one of my employees can augment their hot water at home for a $300-$600 investment, and maybe reduce their cost by 25 per cent,” said Mr Birch.