Killington Resort Expands Renewable Energy For 2017-18 Season
Vermont’s Killington Resort, the largest ski and snowboard resort in Eastern North America and one of POWDR’s adventure lifestyle companies, will shine a little brighter starting this winter, with numerous new solar power projects that will generate more than 3,300,000 kWh of clean electricity annually for the resort and sister property, Pico Mountain.
“As a destination that wants to be around for generations to come and yet is in a weather dependent industry, it is imperative for us to reduce our carbon footprint and invest in renewable energy sources as much as we can,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort. “It is our goal to make Killington and Pico world-class properties in sustainability, and we have high expectations for ourselves and from our guests to be innovative when it comes to environmental responsibility.”
An established leader in sustainability, Killington Resort and Pico Mountain is increasing its commitment to renewable energy as a part of POWDR’s Play Forever sustainability efforts. Killington and Pico will have eight new solar installations on-site for 2017/18, including fourteen AllEarth Solar Trackers which have been designed, tested and engineered in Vermont. The units use GPS technology to follow the sun throughout the day, allowing them to produce up to 45 percent more energy than a fixed system. The trackers, plus three new rooftop installations on the Pico Base Lodge, Pico Administration Building and Killington Golf Course Maintenance Building are expected to generate approximately 200,000 kWh of clean electricity annually.
In addition to the on-mountain solar installations, Killington partnered with Namaste Solar to develop four off-site solar farms within a short drive from the mountain. The four projects will be energized before the end of 2017 and generate more than 3,100,000 kWh of electricity per year, which is more than 10 percent of the resort’s annual usage. The electricity produced from all solar initiatives would power 370 homes annually and conserve 2,471 metric tons of CO2, according to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
Additional investments include low energy snowmaking equipment, electric car charging stations and energy saving initiatives at the Killington Grand Hotel. Killington has partnered with Efficiency Vermont to add 163 new low energy snow guns to its snowmaking arsenal, bringing the estimated total percentage of snowmaking hours from low energy guns to 72 percent. New electric car charging stations will be added at the Grand Hotel, Snowshed and Skyship parking lots. At the Killington Grand Hotel, variable frequency drives (VFDs) have been installed, guest rooms have been equipped with wireless thermostats that allow temperature control of unoccupied rooms and a multi-year heat pump replacement program is underway.
Killington powers its K-1 Express Gondola and the Peak Lodge by purchasing electricity generated by BioGas, through a program commonly known as Cow Power. Killington purchases over a million kilowatt hours of energy annually through Green Mountain Power’s Cow Power program, equivalent to the total electricity usage of nearly 170 homes. The Cow Power program also supports local farms as it provides an additional revenue source to participating farms.
“From cow power to solar power, the Killington team is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to reduce impact and inspire others to do the same,” said Laura Schaffer, director of sustainability for POWDR. “It’s their desire to collaborate with key partners that make it possible to build these projects and will help the state of Vermont meet the visionary goal of achieving 90 percent of the state’s total energy needs from renewable sources by 2050.”
Killington was awarded Vermont’s 2017 Energy Leadership Award, 2014 Green Mountain Award for Environmental Excellence and Efficiency and the National Ski Areas Association 2013 Golden Eagle Award.
