Mountain Resorts Take Renewable Energy To The Next Level

mike lewis

• August 21 2008
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The snow industry’s future is inseparable from the climate, and rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns are forcing many in the business to examine their business models and look for ways to serve as examples to other industries and do their part to reduce carbon emissions. Resorts’ use of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) (for more info go HERE), a method of purchasing clean, renewable energy produced elsewhere to compensate for traditional energy consumed, has been widely publicized, and 68 resorts are now on board, with 34 of them offsetting 100 percent of their energy use. While this program encourages the development of renewable energy projects and production, it does not directly generate any power. However, several mountains are taking the next step and making significant investments in their own, on-site renewable energy projects.

Here’s a brief run down of the mountains that have thrown their hats in the ring:

Jiminy Peak, Massachusetts
Jiminy installed the first, privately owned megawatt class turbine for on-site power usage in the country last year. The $4 million project reduces Jiminy’s use of grid generated power by approximately 25%.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort, California
The Tahoe area mountain is aggressively working on a million dollar project to install 20 wind turbines in the Kirkwood Valley, which will generate over 20% of the valley’s commercial and residential electrical needs.

Aspen Skiing Company, Colorado
Aspen installed a 150-kilowatt solar system, the largest on the Western Slope, in nearby Carbondale and is exploring the possibility of constructing wind turbines at the top of Snowmass’ Cirque.

Blue Mountain Ski Area, Pennsylvania
Blue Mountain is conducting a one-year study with a local university to assess the feasibility of an on-site wind energy project.

While renewable energy projects have obvious environmental and public relations benefits for resorts, the costs associated with them are still quite high, but thanks to government tax credits and rising energy costs, the price tags are also starting to pencil economically. Looming on the horizon is the demise of two key tax credits set to expire at the end of the year and the National Ski Area Association (NSAA) is lobbying congress to extend them. NSAA president Michael Berry sent a letter on behalf of the organization’s 326 member resorts to the Committee on Energy & Natural Resources and the Committee on Finance on August 20 asking them to support the bill. According to the letter: “Stimulating investment in the renewable energy industry would benefit the environment, reduce our dependency on foreign energy sources and help our national, state, and local economies. Ultimately, it would help ski areas preserve skiing and snowboarding and the winter recreation experience that is threatened by global warming. The time to act is now, and we urge Congress to pass the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (HR 6049).”