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Sasakwa Lodge, in Tanzania’s Grumeti Reserve, is a small luxury hotel serving the high net worth individual market. The Lodge was only recently connected to the local energy grid, which is unreliable and extremely costly. As a result, the Lodge is still dependent on several diesel generators for electricity, which are also very expensive to operate. To address these issues, Singita Grumeti Reserve asked Terrapin to conduct an on-site facility and systems review and identify opportunities to lower Sasakwa Lodge’s energy costs. Our recommendations included improving system efficiency, harnessing waste heat, shifting thermal loads to solar water heaters to reduce electricity consumed, and potentially utilizing photovoltaics for partial on-site power generation.

These strategies are intended to lower operating costs and environmental impacts without affecting the guest experience. Since profits from the Lodge are used to support the Grumeti Reserve, environmental efficiency measures that lower operating costs compound to benefit both the environment and wildlife conservation. An impressive number of social sustainability programs are already in place at the Lodge, such as school construction in local communities, local hiring and job training, and organic vegetable production in nearby villages.

*Header and feature image courtesy of Bill Browning