The owners of the Howard Johnson Hotel in South Portland are seeking to add solar panels that would reduce energy costs, but it needs a zoning change approved by the city first.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the hotel’s $900,000 project would entail installing a solar array on a wooded parcel behind the hotel. The array would have 900 solar panels and would help the hotel save $53,000 per year in electricity costs.
The hotel owners are seeking to change the parcel’s zone from residential to limited business use — a move that was endorsed by the city’s planning board in April.