Jerry Schwartz a bright spark on solar power

Hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz has brought a renewable energy source into the heart of the NSW Hunter Valley’s coal country.

Jerry Schwartz at his solar farm

Hotel mogul Jerry Schwartz has brought a renewable energy source into the heart of the NSW Hunter Valley’s coal country, ­allowing him to power his hotels, conference centres and brewery.

Within five weeks the $10m solar farm, comprising 13,350 panels on a site adjacent to his Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley hotel near Cessnock, will meet the power requirements of the hotel as well as his Hunter Valley Conference and Events Centre and Sydney Brewery.

“It is particularly important to showcase renewable energy in the heart of a region still known for its coal mining,” Dr Schwartz said in a statement.

“Tourism is the sustainable industry of the future for the Hunter Valley and to have the hotel, convention centre and brewery fully powered by renewable energy is an important initiative.”

When the solar farm is operational the renewable energy source will deliver a CO2 reduction of about 7,811,000kg a year, which is equivalent to removing more than 4300 vehicles annually from the road.

High-voltage cabling and new power poles and switching gear is being installed for connection to Ausgrid’s infrastructure.

Excess power will initially be sold to the grid before eventually contributing to the power needs of Dr Schwartz’s other hotels across NSW.

The solar farm adjoining the Crowne Plaza Hotel is the latest in a series of environmental initiatives delivered by Dr Schwartz’s company.

Three years ago a large bank of solar panels was installed on the roof of the Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, spelling out “Lovedale’’. The 99.58kW solar plant produced a CO2/greenhouse gas reduction of 164,384kg a year.

The installation of the solar panels formed part of an integrated environmental project that also included the development of a cogeneration plant.

The cogeneration plant involved the simultaneous production of two forms of energy — electricity and heat — from a single fuel source (gas), which is used by the Crowne Plaza Hunter ­Valley.

Waste heat produced in the cogeneration process is used for production of hot water and heating in the hotel as well as heating the swimming pool, production of potable water and use in the Lovedale Brewery production.

Dr Schwartz is the largest owner of private hotels in Australia. He is also the largest hotel and tourism investor in the Hunter Valley region, with three hotels in Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, as well as a winery, Sydney Brewery, Hunter Valley Conference and Events Centre, and the heritage-listed Newcastle Post Office, which he plans to turn into a function centre.

The solar farm was approved after a full statement of environmental effects and a vegetation management plan started in 2016. The Development Application was approved by Cessnock City Council and the Joint Regional Planning Panel two years later.