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Ski areas remain focused on protecting habitat and clean water, reducing waste, and increasing efficiency in their operations to decrease ecological and climate impacts. With the unpredictable effects of climate change, particularly on winter weather, Vermont’s ski areas lead the charge in the industry with exciting, large- and small-scale projects to preserve the outdoor experience for which Vermont is known.
Jay Peak Resort’s 3-megawatt electric boiler is one of the largest standalone carbon-reducing projects in Vermont’s history. Depending on demand and electrical rates, the boiler is responsible for the entire heat load for the 158-room Jay Hotel, Conference Center, Pump House Indoor Waterpark, numerous restaurants, and retail spaces—saving an estimated 2500 tons of carbon per year. Jay Peak also captures waste heat created during ice production in the Ice Haus Indoor skating facility. Rather than expelling the heat outside, this upgrade redirects it to the water park, saving energy and reducing the overall carbon emissions of the Hotel Jay Complex.
Killington Resort, also known as The Beast, is home to an industry-leading 47 EV charging stations available on-site for visiting skiers and riders. Power for stations—and the resort—increasingly comes from the area’s expanded use of renewables like solar and cow power. Recently adding fourteen on-site AllEarth Solar Trackers (designed, tested and engineered in Vermont) and three additional rooftop installations, Killington is making plans for additional installations on roofs across the resort. Through partnerships, the ski area also operates four off-site Vermont-based solar farms generating approximately 3,100,000 kWh of clean electricity annually, saving an estimated 2,471 metric tons of CO2.
Home to the world’s most extensive snowmaking system, Killington uses a wide range of snowmaking technology and recently announced the addition of 1,000 low-energy snow guns in the next two years (500 are already in operation). Killington also upgraded its system with an electric snowmaking generator equipped with variable pressure output, decreasing energy consumption and potentially reducing waste pressure by up to 30 percent.
Upgrading from diesel to electric compressors for snowmaking greatly decreased Bolton Valley Resort’s emissions—and enabled the area to replace its mid-mountain pump house radiant propane heater with two new efficient wall heaters. Critical for drying out snowmaking hoses and keeping them from freezing, the captured heat from the new compressor has helped heat the Bolton Valley pump house, reducing the facility’s propane consumption from 250 gallons per week to 100 gallons per season.
Stratton Mountain Resort’s snowmaking team recently updated their fleet with 48 new high-efficiency HKD tower guns before announcing an additional $2M snowmaking investment in the coming seasons.
A 20-year agreement to purchase energy produced by a new solar array in nearby Wallingford also makes Stratton among the leading Vermont ski areas utilizing solar energy. Currently 64 percent of all energy the area uses is renewable wind or solar, with an overall mix that is 94 percent carbon free.
One of the only ski areas with 100% of snowmaking pumps powered with variable frequency drives that reduce waste pressure, Magic Mountain recently invested in more than 50 new energy-efficient snowmaking guns, reducing its snowmaking energy consumption by 50% while increasing output. All electricity at Magic comes from solar-networked sources.
On the heels of a recent greenhouse gas inventory and facilities and snowmaking audit, Sugarbush Resort is planning to holistically reduce emissions resort-wide. The resort added electric heat pumps to the Lodge at Lincoln Peak and the Day School, eliminating ~90% of these buildings’ propane consumption for heating. Over the last several years, Sugarbush has partnered with Green Lantern Solar to produce 4.75 million kWh of solar per year to the grid which is more than enough to power all of Mt Ellen’s annual operations.
For more information on ski area energy initiatives, visit skivermont.com/sustainability.
