Mexico. The City Council of Mérida presented a pilot plan to promote, in the two to three star hotels that operate in this capital, water heating systems through the use of solar energy.
Mayor Mauricio Vila Dosal said, during the presentation of the "Energy Efficiency Plan for the Tourism Sector" that this project has the support of the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (Conuee), and the City Council itself through the Sustainable Development Unit.
"With this plan, which for the first time is applied in Mexico, participating hotels will be able to opt for credits of up to 15 million pesos in a maximum period of five years and low interest rates, for the installation of water heating systems by solar energy, in order to reduce their carbon footprint in the environment," explained the mayor.
The idea is also to attract new niches of tourists, who are interested in staying in "green hotels" that mitigate the effects of climate change.
He explained that this measure is part of the municipality's commitments with international organizations such as the World Resources Institute (WRI), to promote programs aimed at the efficient use of energy in the buildings that are built in the city.
"Merida and Guadalajara are the only two cities in the country to have the advice of the WRI, so that they become a low-carbon center," he added.
He explained that the benefits that hotels will obtain by installing solar water heaters are the reduction of up to 70 percent of fuel consumption.
For his part, the Director General of Conuee, Odón de Buen Rodríguez, welcomed the implementation of this pilot plan that was developed in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
In this plan he worked for four years, to develop elements that today allow Merida to offer the Pilot Financial Mechanism in the Yucatan Peninsula within the Energy Efficiency Plan.
The head of the Sustainable Development Unit, Sayda Rodríguez Gómez, explained that these actions are part of the municipal strategies against climate change, and stressed that tourism has a very important role for the sustainable development of Mérida as it is a relevant activity.
