Sands China Ltd says it has installed the first solar thermal-heat pump hybrid energy plant to be used in Macau’s hospitality and integrated resort industry at Sands Cotai Central, the Cotai property currently undergoing a US$2.2 billion transformation into The Londoner Macao.
According to Sands China, the energy-efficient plant generates both heating and cooling for 2,000 hotel rooms of the Sky Tower at Sheraton Grand Macao Hotel, located on the Cotai Strip, eliminating the need for a natural gas boiler.
The technology utilises a 520-kilowatt capacity solar thermal and an 800-kilowatt capacity high-temperature water source heat pump system to generate enough hot water for all 2,000 rooms.
In total, Sands China has installed 222 solar thermal panels installed over 15,000 square feet of roof space of the hotel tower, which will generate more than 500 megawatt hours of thermal energy annually.
The new hybrid heating and cooling system improves the existing plant efficiency by over 50%, saving over 14,000 MMBTU of natural gas and reducing carbon emissions by 1,140 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
The system is the hospitality and IR industry’s largest such energy plant anywhere in Southeast Asia, the company added.
Sands China also plans to roll out similar systems across all of its operations with the aim of eliminating gas boilers and improving the company’s overall energy efficiency.
“Sustainability, including energy and water efficiency, is part of Sands China’s operating DNA,” said Sands China President, Dr Wilfred Wong.
“We are very excited about embracing renewable energy in our business operations wherever possible to mitigate impact from fossil fuel energy sources, and this aligns with our commitment to environmental leadership in the market and to building a sustainable future.”
