The story behind the funding of our AC project for Arenal Kioro in Costa Rica
When the funding of our energy efficiency project for Arenal Kioro hotel in Costa Rica opened on the ecoligo invest platform in March 2020, we couldn’t foresee the effects that Covid19 would have on all our lives and the global tourism industry.
As a result, the project could only partly be funded with capital coming from the crowd – 13 out of 69 air conditioning units were financed by the crowd back then. To make up for this gap and to still be able to fully finance all air conditioning units, we decided to cover the remaining amount with bridge finance.
The old air conditioning systems of the Arenal Kioro hotel were replaced by new, efficient air conditioning systems by Ra Newables. The works were completed in November 2019 and since then the hotel’s electricity consumption and CO2 emissions could be reduced. The new air conditioning systems need 34% less electricity, saving around 181.6 MWh of energy per year. In addition, an average of around 50 tonnes of CO2 can be saved each year. ecoligo purchased this project in March 2020 after its final construction.
The AC project complements a number of projects ecoligo implemented with the help of Ra Newables for this client. This includes the installation of a solar hot water system, new energy-efficient LED lights, and a 205 kWp solar PV system. All projects have been successfully funded by crowdinvestors on ecoligo invest between August and October 2019.
The hotel attaches great importance to sustainability and has commissioned environmental assessments to minimize its impact. We are glad to say that this project will be open for financing again so that crowdinvestors can support a responsible enterprise in Latin America.
The world is waking up again
About one and a half years after the initial launch of the project, the world is slowly getting back to normal, with hygiene measures and vaccinations making all our lives easier again. As our lives are slowly getting back on track, so is the tourism industry in Costa Rica. Since September 2020 hotels in Costa Rica can operate at full capacity and international travel is possible again.
With increased tourism, Arenal Kioro is seeing its performance growing every day. As a result, they’re able to pay their electricity bill with ecoligo on time and in full each month, while they have also begun to pay back the COVID payment moratorium from last year. This payment holiday was granted by ecoligo to support the client going through one of the toughest times in their business.
With the effects of COVID-19 slowly starting to weigh off, we feel that the time is right to open funding for this project again on ecoligo invest, in order to give crowdinvestors the opportunity to grow their sustainable impact in Costa Rica even further by refinancing this project.
Let’s finish together what we have started in March 2020 and support this project in Costa Rica, a country known for being a role model when it comes to sustainability, a leader in renewable energy and environmental protection.
As reflected also in the words of Ricardo Araya Cubillo, Arenal Kioro’s Founder, Marketing & Sales Manager, sustainability is part of their DNA:
”At Arenal Kioro our motto is “Green Luxury”: We want to be a role model for other companies and show that maintaining the natural beauty that surrounds us and developing a successful company can go hand in hand. The operation of energy-efficient air conditioning systems is a perfect example of this, as it reduces our electricity bills and at the same time reduces CO2 emissions.”
In addition, this project supports the Sustainable Development Goals 7 (affordable and clean energy) and 13 (climate protection measures) of the United Nations. With the effects of climate change growing day by day, we are excited to offer investors the opportunity to crowdinvest a climate-efficient solution.
We invite you to learn more about this project on the dedicated project page:
https://investments.ecoligo.bwstg.com/projekte/arenal-kioro-effiziente-klimatisierung-ii/
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