Shortly before Memorial Day, Brendan Carmody took the wraps off his new ultra-green hotel in Newport, the Greenstone Inn.
Since then, he's gotten a good read on all of the energy-saving measures he took during the hotel's $2.25 million construction. The average monthly electricity bill for the 20-unit oceanfront hotel? $54.
"There are days when we produce more energy than we use," Carmody said.
The Greenstone Inn started its life as the Viking Inn's cottages — literally. Some of the wood salvaged from the cottages' demolition was used to construct the new building.
When it opened in May, the Greenstone was the culmination of a seven-year quest by Carmody to build an inn that would coincide with his belief system.
"I'm not a scientist," Carmody said. "I can't tell you if global warming is real. But even if it isn't, getting off foreign oil is a goal we should all be working toward."
It took Carmody several years to find an architect to work with and a bank to finance the project (he went through three of each). In the meantime, he was researching the latest in green building materials and energy efficiency systems.
The result is a metal roof optimized to get the best performance from the photovoltaic array by Solar Ki of Corvallis, a wastewater heat reclamation system by Renewability Energy Inc. of Canada, a tankless hot water system, and a smart key docking station in every room that shuts off the power when the guest is away.
Carmody said the wiring is in place to install electric vehicle charging stations in the parking area and install a wind turbine or two on the bluff below the building to take advantage of the coast's windy nature without obscuring guest views.
Read the full story on Sustainable Business Oregon here.
Green Lodging News called the Greenstone "one of Oregon's greenest inn's."
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