Time was, nearly a decade ago now, when wind power was most commonly seen as the way forward by ski resorts looking to generate sustainable energy on site to cover their energy requirements, or at least a chunk of them.
Of course, many were already powered by hydro electricity from regional power plants, but if they were investing themselves it would most likely be in wind turbines. These included the mighty 1.5-megawatt Zephyr turbine at Jiminy Peak on the East Coast of North America as well as Eye of the Wind at Grouse Mountain above Vancouver on the West.
That era seems to have ended, to some extent at least, with some of the biggest new projects unveiled at ski resorts on both sides of the Atlantic this autumn being big solar farms.
The latest is back at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Massachusetts, which must be the world’s most dedicated ski area when it comes to the percentage of its turnover it is pumping into making itself self-sufficient in green energy, and it is the largest community-run solar power plant in the region.
The Nexamp Peak Solar Project covers 12 acres and includes 7,500 precisely aligned solar panels arranged in 682 rows with a 2.3-megawatt solar-energy-generating capacity.
Credit – Nexamp
Combined with the Zephyr wind turbine, as well as other green energy projects at the resort, the new solar array will enable the resort to offset 90% of its energy needs from local renewable resources, making Jiminy Peak one of the greenest ski resorts in the world.
In addition to the resorts being largely self-powered by green energy, local home owners benefit from a 15% saving on their electricity costs.
The new solar plant at Jiminy’s Peak follows the decision by three other ski areas in the region to commit to buying 100% of their energy from local solar plants for many years to come and the news that the Pitztal glacier, Austria’s highest ski area, has also opened its own super-efficient high-altitude solar power production facility.