Ecorazzi

Last March, Richard Branson expanded his Carribean empire with the purchase of Mosquito Island — a 124-acre beauty just one mile off the coast of another Branson resort, Necker Island. At that time, Branson said that he intended for his latest purchase to “serve as an eco-friendly example to the rest of the resorts out there.”

Over one year later, Branson is putting those plans into action. “It is actually inexcusable for the Caribbean to need to use dirty fuels anymore when it has all these natural resources on its doorstep,” the 57-year-old entrepreneur told AP. Designs for Branson’s Mosquito resort call for 20 villas and a beachfront restaurant powered entirely by wind turbines and solar panels. During a recent tour, he also touted sustainable building designs to capture cool-thermal air flows (so as to eliminate a need for air conditioning), organic gardens for all food served, and biofueled beach buggies.

Currently, designs for the resort are being reviewed by the British Virgin Islands planning department — which so far, has been positive of the concept. In the meantime, Branson is also launching an eco-consulting group for the region called Virgin Green Owls. The firm will work to help other resorts and projects go carbon-neutral. “We’ve managed to prove on paper and now we’ll prove in reality that the Caribbean could run with the determination of governments on solar and wind,” Branson said.

via Mercury News