Darren Keenan and his wife, Jackie, have been operating the Noosa Sun Motel on Gympie Terrace for almost 20 years.
In 2016 they made the decision to install solar panels and LED lighting and, although common today, they were trailblazers in the accommodation sector at the time. The installations substantially reduced the motel’s power consumption with a payback period of only 2.3 years. Though the financial benefits were notable, the key benefit for Darren and Jackie was the positive impact the reduction in power consumption had on the environment. Guest feedback was positive too, and the motel was awarded a Zero Emissions Noosa Superhero award.
Says Darren: “Jackie and I work closely together at the motel and often end up in deep conversations. We asked ourselves how we could be more eco-friendly and further reduce our footprint. As a result we introduced many new initiatives. We engaged our local supplier, Noosa Wholesalers, to introduce more environmentally friendly supplies in our rooms such as biodegradable shampoo, conditioner, and soap packaging, plus biodegradable bin liners.
“While we always believe in engaging with local suppliers, a couple of specialised items had to be sourced from outside our area. These included tissues and toilet paper made from bamboo, manufactured by Who Gives a Crap, compostable coffee pods made by Urban Brew and milk supplied from Australia’s first carbon positive dairy, Maleny Dairies. We also introduced a recycle bin in our rooms and have undertaken steps to educate guests on recycling.”
Noosa Sun was also successful with an application for the Hotel Energy Uplift Grant in 2021. The grant funded some great new technology that resulted in a further decrease in energy consumption. Technologies included the introduction of six solar arks on the motel building plus Wi-Fi air conditioning controllers. Both technologies were installed by local contractor, Green Earth Solutions. Solar arks are a modern and improved version of a rooftop whirlybird and have been shown to reduce the temperature in a roof cavity by up to 30C. The Wi-Fi air conditioning controllers allow for remote shut down of the air conditioning once a guest has departed their room. These initiatives reduce the time used and amount of energy required for air conditioning which is evident in the reduction in energy consumption indicated in the motel’s power bills.
In addition to the reduction and renewable energy initiatives, the motel has also purchased an electric vehicle which is used as part of daily motel operations, and has installed a 3-phase 11kW EV charging point.
Says Darren: “This new EV charging infrastructure was installed in August 2022. We hope it will encourage the use of electric cars therefore reducing the emissions produced by our guests when travelling in the Noosa region. Both my wife and I plan to continue to seek ways to further reduce Noosa Sun Motel’s footprint on the environment with the long-term goal of being carbon positive.”
For further inspiration to support Noosa’s zero emissions goals, head to ZEN Inc.’s website www.zeroemissionsnoosa.com.au. Join ZEN Inc. to support its work or help with projects.
