Savannah Osborne
Loyola Marymount University
Jeff Thies
Keep this story going! Share below!
Ted Turners Reserves is a hospitality company that provides guests with authentic and meaningful experiences of their unique wildlife while actively making conservation efforts through their different projects and innovations. They have been able to completely move away from fossil fuels, and run their entire ranch on renewable energy with their new photovoltaic system. This is helping to solve goal 12 of the UN SDGs, ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns by lessening the threat of fossil fuel.
The new Photovoltaic Solar Power Plant is able to reduce the runtime and fuel costs to power the Costilla Lodge at Vermejo Park Ranch. It harvests energy from the sun and stores it in the batteries overnight to supply them power. The system consists of 216 ground-mounted PV modules, 6 SMA Sunny Boy 9000TL-US inverters and 9 Sunny Island 6048-US inverters. This is a 56.16k photovoltaic generating plant that was built at 10,200 ft. Due to its need to get energy directly from the sun, they had added a diesel generator to have on stand by by for cloudy days.
This has allowed them to go from running their generators 24 hours a day, to now being able to have them shut down for 90% of the summer. They took a step to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy with hopes that others will follow in the future.
Ted Turner has been able to successfully unite economic growth and environmental sustainability through his innovative land management techniques. This innovation helps support goal 12 of the UN SDGs: ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. As a whole, this company helps reach target 12.8: ensuring that people everywhere have relevant information and awareness for sustainable development. As their mission statement says, "We are committed to restoring, sharing and safeguarding America’s wild places for future generations, while providing an inspiring guest experience that showcases our planet’s natural treasures". Using their own resources to bring awareness to sustainability development. Their innovation specifically helps with target 12.c, rationalize insufficient fossil fuels. This new system has allowed for them to now be almost completely off of fossil fuels, and continue to use renewable energy to run their Lodge.
Ted Turner has always had an appreciation for nature and has been able to support land and species conservation through his companies. "Turner wishes to share his love of nature and discovery in the hope that those visiting his properties will develop a deeper appreciation for and awareness of what our Earth has to offer and, just as importantly, a shared responsibility for the well-being of our environment."
Due to its cost-savings benefits, its long term effect will have you receive a return on investment from installation. Also, using this clean and green energy source will help with air pollution, increasing health benefits.
This system allowed them to save on electricity costs while providing them with a natural, free and available source of energy coming from the Sun. These reduced costs allowed for them to have a higher return on investment, making it a benefit to the business as well as the environment.
This innovation creates a lot of different benefits for the environment. It is able to reduce air pollution, reduce carbon footprint, and minimize fossil fuels.
Due to the reduction in gas emissions and air pollutions, it is able to create overall health benefits to the people in the surrounding areas by improving local air quality. This has a positive impact on society and is also used as an example and inspiration for other companies to do the same thing.
Get stories of positive business innovations from around the world delivered right to your inbox.
Raven Little, Youth Experience Coordinator
