Above: the Westin Dawn Beach Resort & Spa St Maarten, with rooftop solar panels

By the Caribbean Journal staff

After a year of generating its own solar power, the Westin Dawn Beach Resort in St Maarten has reached a milestone: it’s now generated a gigawatt hour of energy.

That is enough to generate annual power for 92 households in America, conserving more than 1.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.

The resort completed its solar away earlier in February 2014, after completing its the first phase of the solar array in June 2013.

“The capital investment not only makes an impact on environmental sustainability, but our resort has become even more attractive to groups seeking an energy efficient location,” said Dan Szydlowski, regional director of sales at the resort. “With the addition of the Smardt Chiller, we save a minimum of 30-35 percent in energy costs.”

The 317- room property now produces six to eight hours of its own power during peak times, according to the resort.