Business Editor
Being powered by the sun and cooled by Earth makes it different than any other hotel in Augusta.
The new Comfort Inn & Suites on Gordon Highway near Bobby Jones Expressway welcomed city leaders Friday morning.
"It is such a great day for Augusta, our first green hotel," Mayor Deke Copenhaver said. "It is my hope that this will set the bar for future hotels in Augusta."
The $4 million hotel is open and nearly finished. More solar panels need to be installed on the roof, said owner T.R. Reddy, an
India-born hotel developer and electrical engineer.
Mr. Reddy started a wholesale power control equipment company in Augusta in 1985, Powerline Inc., which designed and installed
the lighting and power controls for the Jacksonville Jaguars' football stadium and General Motors' Saturn manufacturing facility in Tennessee.
There are six rows of pipes 200 feet underneath the hotel that make up the geothermal cooling system, he said. One set of solar panels on the roof of the overhang provide s some electrical power.
The rooms have low-flow faucets and energy-saving light fixtures. The front desk can control the energy usage of each room in case guests leave lights on when not in the room. Infrared sensors sense whether people are inside, Mr. Reddy said.
"The solar panels create 40 percent of daily requirements," he said . "Eventually, we may be approaching 60 to 70 percent power supplied ourselves."
Though the green features added 25 percent to the cost of the hotel, he said he thinks the expense will be paid back through savings - and tax credits - over the next five years.
Having a green hotel is also a selling point to entice visitors, Mr. Reddy said.
"Statistics prove that at least 20 percent more people visit green hotels," he said.
Augusta Commissioner Calvin Holland said he was pleased with the development in that area of Richmond County.
"South Augusta is an untouched area. We feel that the potential of this area will grow," he said. "South Augusta is ready, and south Augusta is growing."
Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.
