ROCK HAVEN INN SOON TO USE SOLAR ENERGY
Selwyn Riumana shaking hands with the solar system provider from Australia. Photo credit: SIBC.
The Rock Haven Inn in Honiara will soon be the first hotel to use solar energy instead of relying on the electricity supplied by Solomon Power in the country.
This is made possible through the introduction of a high-tech PV Solar Hybrid System that will generate power and reduce electricity costs for the commercial accommodation provider.
At a groundbreaking ceremony in Honiara today, Rock Haven Inn Managing Director Selwyn Riumana told SIBC News, they have decided to venture into green energy for various reasons, one of which is to cut down on costs.
“We have decided to go into green energy simply because of many issues. The main contributing factor why we go into solar is because of high costs in operating businesses as this one. While we have God-given solar radiation available around us, we just need to tap into the right technology to convert this energy for human uses and that is why it really motivates us to go into solar energy. Solomon Islands is blessed with solar energy but we just have – like I said earlier – use the right technology to make the best use of it for our own use.”
Meanwhile, Mr Riumana says they are looking at completing all solar panel installations by the end of this month.
“We are estimating by the end of June we’ll be installing solar panels we’ll try to recover our cost within 18 months and then we should have our own free energy from then on. I think solar energy is very important for the tourism industry in the Solomon Islands especially for home stays at home where there is no electricity. I think we have the sun everywhere throughout the year, we have only one season and that is summer throughout the year so let us make use of this God-given energy for our commercial operations.”
SIBC News understands, a full installation of the PV Solar Hybrid System will cost about $1.2 million dollars.