Skiing on sunshine
Living in a ski resort town, Bend, Oregon, I was recently thinking that it would be great if Mt. Bachelor Resort would install solar panels to help power the chair lifts. Turns out that my musings may not be too far off. Several ski resorts in the country have already incorporated solar power into their operations.
On July 1 this year (well before the ski season started), Colorado’s Governor Bill Rittner was present at the dedication of the largest solar array in the ski industry at Aspen/Snowmass. Aspen Skiing Company invested in a 150,000 kilowatt solar panel system at the ski resort, expected to generate enough clean, solar electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 400,000 pounds of CO2.
The solar array was actually constructed at Colorado Rocky Mountain School in Carbondale, CO, about 30 miles from the ski resort. Electricity generated will power the science building at the school and excess energy will be fed into the town’s electrical grid.
But what if you want to go ski or snowboard at a resort that uses solar energy to power its operations? Fortunately, there are a number of places in the U.S. you can go. For example, Mammoth Mountain in California uses solar energy to provide heat and power to its lift shacks. You can also find solar powered lighting at Utah’s “The Canyons” resort. The River Run Information Center at Colorado’s Keystone Resort is powered by a solar energy system and relies heavily on natural lighting during the day.
Check out this solar powered chair lift at Steamboat Springs:
Mt. Bachelor in Summer
At the Aspen dedication this July, ASC’s President and CEO Mike Kaplan was the master of ceremonies. He predicted that the large solar array would be the “first drop” in a downpour of alternative energy initiatives statewide.
As a solar power advocate, I would love to see more ski resorts incorporate solar panels into their operations. Powering chairlifts requires a great deal of electricity, and many resorts get plenty of sunshine, in addition to powdery snow. By installing solar panel arrays on the ground, snow can be easily cleared off to maintain efficiency. Solar thermal collectors would also be appropriate to provide cheaper hot water for restrooms, cooking and other operations.
Just as Disneyland should take the lead in implementing solar powered operations, ski resorts can do the same. Who wouldn’t go ski or snowboard at a green resort? Heck, if the energy savings could be passed onto consumers, we may even get a bit of a price break from those exorbitant lift tickets!
Nice information herE on solar. Your
readers might like to watch the videos
on this Go Green website about solar panels.
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