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Starwood Hotels & Resorts and NRG Energy Introduce an Industry-Leading Alliance to Develop Solar Power at Hotel Properties

By: Starwood Hotels & Resorts |  4 Shares     97 Reads

Starwood to install nearly 3 megawatts of solar power in partnership with NRG in first phase of the program.

STAMFORD, Conn. & PRINCETON, N.J. - May 20, 2013 - (BUSINESS WIRE) - From the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders that took place in the British Virgin Islands last week, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) and NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) on Friday announced a new global alliance to expand the use of renewable energy systems at Starwood properties.

The alliance will begin with three properties, including the installation of a 1.3 megawatt (MW) solar array at the Westin St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands where NRG will build, own and operate the project. This array will provide clean, efficient power to the resort helping to reduce local air emissions and the impact of shipping on the fragile Caribbean ecosystem by directly reducing demand for diesel fuel imports.

NRG will own the solar arrays while Starwood will be the enabling partner through a multi-year agreement to purchase electricity from the solar arrays installed at several locations. Not only will Starwood reduce its electricity costs, it also will lock in predictable energy costs at an affordable level for years to come and reduce the company’s carbon footprint and local air emissions. The customized solar solutions designed by NRG in consultation with Starwood will seamlessly integrate with the aesthetic of each location while enhancing the guest experience.

“At Starwood, we have established an environmental sustainability goal we call 30/20 by 20 meaning we’re committed to reducing our energy consumption by 30 percent and water consumption by 20 percent by 2020 throughout our global hotel and resort system,” said Ken Siegel, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel for Starwood. “We are making great progress against those goals through a variety of programs in place around the world and we’re pleased to partner with NRG to be able to provide affordable and sustainable electricity that will benefit the environment, our guests and our business.”

NRG’s wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, one of the largest developers and owners of solar power in the United States, is also a leading developer of industry-leading distributed solar for businesses. NRG Solar’s capability to customize and scale solar solutions to the specific needs of customers with a broad variety of facilities is what attracts organizations to partner with NRG.

“In many parts of the world, including in the United States, solar power, generated locally, is well on its way to becoming the most cost-effective, environmentally beneficial and aesthetically pleasing energy option for any customer-facing business,” said David Crane, NRG President and Chief Executive Officer. “Starwood, with its 30/20 by 20 initiative and other commitments to sustainability best practices, is an acknowledged leader in this regard in the global tourism and hospitality industry. We look forward to working with Starwood on clean energy and related sustainability initiatives in order to achieve the environmental and economic goals that we share in common.”

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,146 properties in nearly 100 countries and 171,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, Aloft®, and Element®. The Company boasts one of the industry’s leading loyalty programs, Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG), allowing members to earn and redeem points for room stays, room upgrades and flights, with no blackout dates. Starwood also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., a premier provider of world-class vacation experiences through villa-style resorts and privileged access to Starwood brands. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com.

About NRG and NRG Solar

NRG is at the forefront of changing how people think about and use energy. We deliver cleaner and smarter energy choices for our customers, backed by the nation’s largest independent power generation portfolio of fossil fuel, nuclear, solar and wind facilities. A Fortune 500 company, NRG is challenging the U.S. energy industry by becoming the largest developer of solar power, building the first privately-funded electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and providing customers with the most advanced smart energy solutions to better manage their energy use. In addition to 47,000 megawatts of generation capacity, enough to supply nearly 40 million homes, our retail electricity providers – Reliant, Green Mountain Energy and Energy Plus – serve more than two million customers. More information is available at www.nrgenergy.com. Connect with NRG Energy on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @nrgenergy.

NRG Solar LLC, a subsidiary of NRG, has more than 2,000 MW of photovoltaic and solar thermal projects in operation, under construction or in development across the southwestern United States. More information is available at www.nrgsolar.com.

NRG Safe Harbor Disclosure

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions and include NRG’s expectations regarding the NRG’s solar development and forward-looking statements typically can be identified by the use of words such as “will,” “expect,” “believe,” and similar terms. Although NRG believes that its expectations are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct, and actual results may vary materially. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated above include, among others, general economic conditions, hazards customary in the power industry, competition in power markets, failure of customers to perform under contracts, and changes in government regulation of markets. NRG undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing review of factors that could cause NRG’s actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in the forward-looking statements included in this news release should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect NRG’s future results included in NRG’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov.

Contacts:

NRG
Media
Karen Cleeve
609-524-4608

Investors
Chad Plotkin
609-524-4526

Andy Davis
609-524-4527

Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Media
Christina Kaiser
212-300-1816

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