The Inn At The Manor (Marriot Res. Inn) In West Orange, NJ (installs 108 kW PV system)

[jpak]

http://www.earthtoys.com/news.php?section=view&id=2018

The Inn at the Manor in West Orange, NJ helps reduce CO2 emissions by installing a Solar Electric System

West Orange, NJ – January 11, 2007 – The Inn at the Manor, a 128 suite Marriott Residence Inn, is proud to announce the completion of the installation of a solar electric generating system. The solar arrays are installed on southeast and southwest facing roofs, and include 700 Sharp and Sanyo photovoltaic modules. The Solar Center, a Denville New Jersey based solar energy company, was selected to design and install the 108 kW system. Dennis Wilson, the President of The Solar Center, said “the system was recently started up and worked flawlessly. Over the system’s 30+ year lifespan, it will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 3,000 tons, equivalent to planting 43 acres of trees or permanently removing 400 cars from the road annually”.

“We’re delighted to be the first hotel in New Jersey to go solar”,said Kurt Knowles, Jr., representing ownership of The Inn at The Manor. “In addition to locking in the cost of a portion of our electric needs for the next thirty years, we are doing our part to combat global warming and reduce our country’s dependence on imported oil”. “We believe that all responsible businesses should be looking at investment opportunities in renewable energy systems and increased energy efficiency”.

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[FogerRox]

1. Just a few miles from I live, kudos to them.

KnR

[LSK]

2. K&R

[brook]

3. How cool!

Used to go there for dinner with my folks once in awhile. The Record had some of their best known recipes online a week or so ago.

[BeFree]

4. Kudos to New Jersey

Did they not recently pass a progressive set of laws to help increase solar installations? And they are already seeing benefits. New Jersey is leading the way, eh?

Recommendation #4.

[Dogmudgeon]

5. Let me get this straight ... a MOTEL installs SOLAR panels?

A motel ... that's a hotel for people who are motoring, usually across the country.

Right?

I'm all for increasing solar energy infrastructure, but this is just too ironic. It's like something out of The Onion.

By all means, The Inn at the Manor should install those PV panels. But I just hope they have their own "Plan B" if and when automobile culture (and intercontinental travel) collapses.

--p!
"Easy Motoring ... now in Green!"

[silverweb]

6. The Manor is not a "motel."

They've had a motel associated with it or added in some way in recent years, but that's not even close to their main operation. The Manor has a long and prestigious reputation for elegant weddings and formal events of all sorts. They were around when I lived in NJ decades ago and I'm glad to see that they're still going strong.

See for yourself: http://www.themanorrestaurant.com

On edit: The Inn at the Manor is not part of The Manor and is under different ownership. My error. You will note, however, that The Inn is an "extended stay" facility of "suites," not just your usual motel rooms. Regardless, I think it's commendable that any business, especially one related to travel, does whatever it can to minimize its environmental impact. http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/EWROG

[Dogmudgeon]

7. Relax. I agree with your point.

I just found it to be one of those bitter modern ironies -- an environmentally-friendly business serving an environmentally-ruinous way of life.

The inns may be for extended stays, but they're still oriented toward a highway-travel clientele. That way of life is probably going to come to a crashing halt in the next few years. Of course, there will always be travel, just not so much of it. Environmentally-friendly inns will have a better chance at serving the remaining travel business if for no other reason than they will have more energy, amenities, and the pre-crash comforts.

What that we all got on the non-petroleum energy bandwagon 30 years ago! Thirty years of the neo-Con dream, and now we're sliding into a nightmare. Well, maybe we'll luck out again. Just in case, I'm not planning on doing a lot of driving.

--p!

[silverweb]

8. Agreed.

It is very ironic, but there was travel long before the institutionalization of the automobile and will continue to be as long as there are people on the planet (which may not be all that much longer).

As for driving, I'm with you. I don't own a car anymore and only venture about once a month to places I can't walk. Those adventures are carefully planned in advance to take care of as many needs in one trip as possible, with a one-day car rental being more than sufficient.

It constantly amazes me how our entire economy and way of life seems built around the indispensability of fossil fuel-driven personal vehicles. You'd almost think humanity couldn't possibly have survived before the internal combustion engine. This is, of course, by design and not by accident, and the collapse of this ever-expanding, ever-consuming, petroleum-driven society is inevitable.

Then, of course, there's the planet-wide environmental collapse our way of life in the past century or so is causing. When you look at how long environmental balance has existed on this planet and how little time it took smart, inventive humankind to fuck it all up, our demise won't even register as a blip in planetary or cosmic history. (Wanna talk about your "comma" factor, _george? Ma Nature will heave a huge sigh of relief when we're gone, largely thanks to your evil kind.)

Sad and disgusting, isn't it? All our potential for creative talent and for good and for beauty ... destroyed by greed and the selfish drive to dominate rather than cooperate with Nature and with each other.

[LiberalEsto]

9. My senior prom was at the Manor

Wayne Hills High School class of 1969.
I didn't go because I was a hippie and thought (still do) that proms were bullshit.

[silverweb]

10. LOL

My prom was in the Union Catholic cafeteria in Scotch Plains not too long before yours -- and my date was "arranged" because I was scared to death of boys but Mother thought I should go.

Man, talk about another lifetime ago! :D

I'm an "old hippie" now, but was far too timid then to partake... sure wish I knew then what I've learned since!