US Ski Resorts That Run on Renewable Energy
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While heading out to hit the slopes might feel like an exercise in bonding with your natural surroundings, a trip to the ski resort is actually a pretty impactful experience. It can take a lot of energy to fill the mountain with snow (Almost 90 percent of ski resorts in the US make artificial snow as part of their routine operations), run the lifts, and keep the hotels lit and heated.
If your ski resort is sourcing energy from coal, your ski trip might be contributing to greenhouse gas emissions more than you would like. According to the NRDC, fossil fuels account for about 75 percent of carbon emissions in the United States.
Skiing is a sport that is absolutely reliant on the health of its surroundings (according to experts, ski seasons are slowly shortening due to global warming), so many ski resorts are taking actions to help curb their impact, through programs such as the NSAA Climate Challenge.
A few resorts stand out for going the extra distance by powering their full operations with renewable energy.
Here are four ski resorts that are fully powered by renewable energy:
Berkshire East Mountain Resort
Berkshire East Mountain Resort, a ski resort in western Massachusetts, is powered by a 500kWh solar facility and a 900kWh wind turbine. Berkshire East has been powered by onsite renewable energy since 2011.
Wolf Creek Ski Area
In 2018, Wolf Creek Ski Area in Southern Colorado announced that they would power 100 percent of operations with solar energy through a partnership with Penitente Solar Project.
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
In September of 2019, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, a resort in Wyoming, announced a transition to clean energy with 100 percent of their energy coming from wind power from Horse Butte Wind Farm in Idaho.
Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort
Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, a ski resort in Massachusetts, powers their operations through a blend of wind turbines, solar panels and energy conservation.
Other Resorts
While not fully run off of renewable energy, these ski resorts have taken strides to increase energy sourced from renewable sources:
In 2020, Vail Resorts, which operates 36 ski resorts in the United States, announced a wind power partnership that they say brings their operations to be running on over 90 percent renewable energy.
Mt. Abram, a ski resort in Maine, has taken measures such as 245-kilowatt solar project, a biomass heating system for the base lodge and a high-efficiency water pump station to increase their use of renewable energy.
Whiteface, a ski resort in New York, installed 9,032 solar panels that generates 2.6 MW during their 2019/2020 ski season.
While supporting resorts that are leaders in sustainability is great if they are your home mountain, traveling far distances to ski at an eco-minded resort, isn’t doing the planet any favors. Instead, stick to your nearby resorts and start asking questions about how they can make greater strides to protect the environment that you love to play in.
