Hotel Saracen

A 1.1 MWp rooftop and carport solar PV plant with energy storage for an energy-intensive hotel

Cutting energy costs, increasing independence from the grid and ensuring business continuity are now strategic goals for hotels and hospitality businesses with high energy needs. These needs gave rise to the project for theHotel Saracen, one of the leading hotels on the Sicilian coast. The project involved designing and building an integrated system combining a solar PV plant and battery storage (BESS), able to cover up to 90% of the hotel’s annual energy needs.

A project developed in two phases

Our collaboration with Hotel Saracen began with a first solar PV plant of around 100 kW. Later, as consumption grew and the hotel sought greater energy independence, we designed a second expansion phase with a solar PV plant of around 1 MWp, integrated with energy storage systems JA Energy Storage. The project was delivered under an EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) contract, covering every stage: engineering, design, infrastructure construction, installation and commissioning.

A solar PV plant designed around a hotel’s needs

The plant was sized to power a property with continuous energy consumption all year round. The energy produced powers:

• air conditioning systems;
• professional kitchens;
• three restaurants;
• show-cooking areas;
• filtration systems for the three swimming pools;
• common services and all of the hotel’s utilities.

Thanks to the integration of solar PV and storage, in the evening the hotel can run for around 4-5 hours without drawing energy from the grid, using only the energy stored in the batteries.

Solar carport with integrated energy storage 

One of the distinctive features of the project is the design and construction of a solar carport (PV canopy) whose structure houses both part of the PV modules and the JA Solar storage systems, making the most of the available space and improving the plant’s overall efficiency. Installed:

• around 2,015 bifacial glass-glass PV modules on the carport;
• around 500 modules on the building’s roof.

Bifacial modules also capture light reflected from the ground and surrounding surfaces, increasing energy output. The entire system is controlled by an Energy Management System (EMS) that integrates PV production and storage in a single platform. Continuous monitoring of energy flows optimises consumption, manages demand peaks and maximises self-consumption of the energy produced.

A technical solution to overcome grid connection constraints 

During design, an issue emerged with the distance between the plant and the electricity distribution substation, located around 400 metresaway. To reduce cabling costs and permitting complexity, we developed a medium-voltage solution with a dedicated transformer substation, optimising the plant’s entire electrical infrastructure.

The results

The plant produces around 1.5 GWh of energy a year, enabling Hotel Saracen to achieve significant financial and energy results. Key benefits include:

• coverage of up to 90% of annual energy consumption;
• energy cost savings of between €400,000 and €500,000 a year;
• an estimated payback period of around 4 years;
• an emissions reduction of around 320 tonnes of CO₂ a year.

A project designed to grow over time

The system was designed to be modular. The storage solution installed makes it easy to increase capacity by adding new batteries, without altering the existing plant. This scalability will allow Hotel Saracen to keep pace with its growing energy needs and, in future, to consider adding new services such as EV charging infrastructure. The project is a concrete example of how an industrial solar PV plant with energy storage can turn a hotel into a model of energy efficiency, cutting operating costs and increasing independence from the grid.