Mérida, Yucatán — A pilot plan will promote solar power in many of the city’s two- and three-star hotels.
Mayor Mauricio Vila Dosal on Tuesday presented the “Hoteles Verdes” project with the support of the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (Conuee) and the City Council’s Sustainable Development Unit.
This plan, the first of its kind in Mexico, gives participating hotels up to 15 million pesos in multi-year tax credits and low-interest loans for solar-powered hot-water systems, the mayor explained.
The concept will also be compelling to eco-conscious tourists who favor “green hotels” in a time of climate change, he said.
This measure is part of the municipality’s commitment to international organizations such as the World Resources Institute to promote programs for the efficient use of energy, he said.
“Mérida and Guadalajara are the only two cities in the country to count on WRI’s advice to become a center of low-carbon emissions,” Vila Dosal added.
Hotels with solar water heaters can expect their fuel consumption to go down as much as 70 percent, he said.
The Director General of Conuee, Odón de Buen Rodríguez, welcomed the implementation of this pilot plan, which was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program.
The plan is the result of four years’ work.
The head of the Sustainable Development Unit, Sayda Rodríguez Gómez, explained that these actions are among the municipal strategies against climate change. She stressed that tourism plays a very important role in sustainable development.
