Hampton Inn by Hilton

SBA 504 Green Loan

UHG Consulting provides SBA 504 Green Loan verification reports. The SBA 504 Green loan is available to eligible small business owners who meet one of the following three requirements:

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Goal 1: Energy Reduction Reduction of existing energy consumption by at least 10% (this cannot apply to a startup business, however, and existing business buying a building may be eligible if the new location uses at least 10% less energy than the prior location)

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Goal 2: Sustainable Design Increased use of sustainable designs, including designs that reduce the use of greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels or low-impact design to produce buildings that reduce the use of non-renewable resources and minimize environmental impact

Goal 3: Renewable Energy Installation or upgrade of renewable energy sources at the property. This can include solar or wind production, or utilization of renewable fuel such a s ethanol or biodiesel. Once installed, at least 15% of the building’s total energy must be derived from these renewable sources.

Hotels undergoing renovations or make upgrades required by industry standards often seek out the SBA 504 Green loan because it can provide additional cost saving benefits due to energy saving techniques.

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Among UHG’s green loan project portfolio is a report for the Hampton Inn by Hilton in Thornton, CO. The subject property was a planned construction project for a hotel with a gross floor area of 55,898 ft2. In order to qualify for the 504 green loan, the hotel decided to pursue Goal 3.

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After obtaining all relevant property documentation for the proposed building space, UHG’s team of energy experts created an energy model using OpenStudio to estimate the building’s total annual energy usage. Understanding the projected energy usage of the building enabled UHG to determine how large the PV solar system needed to be in order to meet the SBA’s 15% renewable energy generation requirement. For this project, the solar system needed to generate at least 237,873 kWh/year.

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UHG used its connections in Colorado’s solar industry to assist the client in obtaining a quote for a compliant solar system from a reliable solar provider. To verify that the proposed system would meet SBA requirements, UHG undertook a feasibility analysis to confirm it would generate at least 15% of the building’s annual energy usage, as well as fit on the hotel roof.

To conclude its work with the Hampton Inn, UHG provided an SBA 504 Green Energy Assessment describing the process of verifying the proposed solar system. The report was submitted to the SBA with the loan application, which was later approved.