The Hilton Hotel at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport is going solar, and it expects to save a significant amount of money in the process.

Distributed Sun, a solar developer operating in the Washington, D.C. area, announced this week that the BWI Hilton had contracted to buy nearly 60 megawatt-hours per year of renewable power. Over the useful life of the array that Distributed Sun is building for the hotel, more than 2 gigawatt-hours of clean energy will be produced.

The move to solar has myriad benefits for the Hilton and its owner, hospitality-management firm Pollin/Miller Hospitality Strategies. "Our partnership with Distributed Sun at the Hilton and elsewhere," PMHS chairman Dave Pollin said, "demonstrates our dedication to greening our portfolio with best-practice solutions that improve our bottom line."

Indeed, the company will be paying less for Distributed Sun's energy than it would for grid-sourced power - and it's reducing its carbon footprint into the bargain. The company's solar power purchases will offset the production of 3.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide.

For companies of all sizes, buying renewable power can produce cost savings and environmental benefits - a true win-win.