Swiss Build the World’s First Solar-Powered Ski Lift

Even though as the crow flies, the postage-stamp town of Tenna, Switzerland, isn’t far from historic resorts like St. Moritz and Davos, Tenna is a one-horse town, one-shop, one-school, and one t-bar town.And that t-bar, the only ski lift in the whole valley, was on its last legs. But rather than let it die, locals raised enough money to update it and then went a step further: They built the world’s first solar-powered ski lift.

It’s more than solar-powered, in fact — it’s a smart investment. The Tenna lift generates 90,000 kilowatts a year, or three times the juice needed to run the lift, and the extra power goes back into the grid, which makes money for the town, which can pay residents back.

So what happens to the 82 solar “wings” when it dumps? Not a problem, because they rotate to follow the path of the sun in the sky and can be tilted to perpendicular during a storm, so there’s no load and the snow slides right off.

At $1.5 million, the project wasn’t cheap, but considering the cost of a new or updated lift anyway, plus the open skies above most ski lift pathways, it’s a no-brainer to use that area to offset the energy use. Other resorts might not gain 300 percent efficiency as in Tenna, where their modest lift shuttles 800 folks an hour and has a fraction of the energy requirements of, say, a high-speed quad, but if the offset is even a quarter of the energy used for shuttling people uphill, that’s a lot less carbon going up in smoke.

Environmental coverage made possible in part by support from Patagonia. For information on Patagonia and its environmental efforts, visit www.patagonia.com.

Story by adventure-journal.com

Berkshire East Installs Wind Turbine and Goes 100% Green Wax

It's been a big week for Berkshire East and Green Wax.  

On Sunday, Berkshire East raised a 900kw wind turbine, that will produce 100% of our electricity for the ski area.

Monday, Green Wax got the call from Resort Owner, Jon Schaefer pledging his support by switching 100% to Green Wax;    

"By exclusively utilizing Green Wax in our tuning shop and rental shop, Berkshire East is making a real commitment to our local environment. We have understood for a long time that ski wax was one of the industry's 'dirty little secrets' but now Green Wax gives us the opportunity to make a real difference."

"Making the decision to use Green Wax was easy; when comparing three comparable products, in terms of cost and performance, and only one is 100% sustainably produced and more importantly 100% biodegradable, Berkshire East will choose Green Wax 100% of the time."

  

In addition to their recent investment of 3 new fuel efficient groomers, which utilize the most efficient snow making technology available, they heat all of their buildings with the wood cut on-site, have increased lighting efficiency by about half in the past 7 years, and are planning a 1 megawatt solar installation to be completed by next summer.

www.berkshireeast.com

www.greenskiwax.com

Bolton Valley Resort in VT Utilizing Wind Energy

Bolton Valley Resort, a locally owned and operated family ski and snowboard area, has constructed the first wind turbine at a Vermont ski area.

The turbine is located near the top of the resort's Vista Quad lift in an existing clearing adjacent to the ski patrol hut. It produces in excess of 300,000 kilowatts of power annually, the equivalent of electricity consumed by 40-to-45 Vermont households.

The turbine, a Northwind 100 manufactured by Northern Power Systems of Barre, VT measures 121 feet in height from the ground to the top of the tower. The distance from ground to the top of the blade is 156 feet. Each blade is coated with Teflon to protect against icing. It is the same process used on turbines in the Bering Sea. The turbine will not be obviously visible from beyond five miles away from the site.

The turbine will be set up to feed excess power that is not consumed by Bolton Valley into the grid through the Vermont net metering program. It is the first turbine at a Vermont ski area and just the second at a ski area in the United States.

Hopefully more ski resorts in the US and around the world will follow suit!

www.boltonvalley.com

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe Installs Wind Turbines

Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is installing three Windspire vertical wind turbines this week on the north side of its Winters Creek Lodge.

The Windspire renewable energy sources will use wind power to provide electricity, offsetting a portion of the new lodge’s electrical costs. The electricity will be funneled back into the region’s power grid and will also qualify Mt. Rose for rebates.

Spokesperson Kayla Anderson said the wind turbines should cover lighting costs for Winters Creek Lodge during the upcoming season.

Anderson said the wind turbines function optimally with winds at 26 miles per hour, and that they'll stop spinning when winds hit about 34 mph. The structures are designed to withstand gusts up to 160 mph. The average wind speed at Mt. Rose’s Slide Bowl is 14 mph.

The Windspires installed at Mt. Rose have been extended to a height of 33 feet, to account for deep snowpack.

Anderson said the resort was hoping to get the wind turbines in last year when Winters Creek Lodge was first built.

“We’ve been working all summer to get these up,” Anderson said. “It’s really exciting that it’s actually happening and we’re making it work.”

Anderson said the wind turbines are another step in the resort’s effort to consider the environment and be energy efficient, and added Mt. Rose should start seeing a full return on its investment in about seven years.

The installation process can be viewed online on the resort’s webcam at skirose.com.

Story by RGJ.co