Holiday Club Katinkulta is going to have the third largest solar power plant in Northern Finland. All the solar power generated by the power plant will be used by the holiday resort and conference centre. On an annual level, the power plant will generate approximately 240,000 kWh of electricity, which will reduce the resort’s carbon footprint by approximately 30,000 kg.
The carbon footprint of Holiday Club Katinkulta will decrease by approximately 30,000 kg once the 207 kWh solar power plant erected on the roof of the spa starts operating in October. It is a significant project: The solar power plant is the third-largest in Northern Finland and among the top 20 nationwide. This is the first solar power plant of this magnitude connected to a leisure centre in Finland. The system is supplied by Oulun Energia.
The electricity generated by the 636 solar panels will all be used in the spa building. The solar power plant will generate approximately 240,000 kWh of energy per year.
“It has long been clear to us that we want to generate our electricity as ecologically as possible. The solar power plant is one step towards this goal, and the work of our eco-energy working group will continue,” says Managing Director Ilpo Antikainen of Katinkullan Pallohalli Oy.
On displays mounted in the spa, customers of Holiday Club Katinkulta will be able to see how much energy the solar power plant generates on a daily basis.
“Our customers are aware and interested in environmental issues,” says Antikainen.
“The payback periods of solar power plants are still long, but environmental values are measured in more than money. This is definitely the future.”
Oulun Energia, the solar plant supplier, was strongly involved in the project from the very beginning, for example helping with the application for energy subsidy granted to solar panel projects by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.
“We are pleased that companies are increasingly interested in using renewable energy even though energy projects do not generate quick profits. Environmental awareness is a strong driver, and so are long-term energy savings,” says Project Manager Antti Korkala at Oulun Energia.
“A solar power plant improves the energy efficiency of buildings, reduces dependence on purchased electricity and balances the impact of electricity market price fluctuations.”
Further information: Ilpo Antikainen, tel. +358 40 739 9118, firstname.lastname@holidayclub.fi Antti Korkala, tel. +358 44 9759 699, firstname.lastname@oulunenergia.fi
Holiday Club Resorts Oy is the leading weekly timeshare company in Europe and a significant operator in the fields of holiday housing and tourism. Holiday Club has 32 holiday resorts. It has a total 2,226 holiday homes. Eight of the resorts feature not only holiday homes but also a spa hotel. There are a total of 1,145 hotel rooms. Nine resorts are located outside Finland, in Sweden, on the Costa del Sol in Spain and in the Canary Islands. Holiday Club has 60,000 families as timeshare customers. The main owner of the group is the Indian company Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Limited. Owners also include Holiday Club’s acting management and the Fennia Group.
www.holidayclubresorts.com
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