A guest post today from my friend Martin Griff. Martin is a New Jersey based snowsports journalist and photographer.
With the symbolic flip of a switch surrounded by 7,500 solar panels, Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in western Massachusetts became one of the greenest four-season resorts in the nation on Tuesday, October 27.
The 12-acre 2.3 megawatt solar site near the base of the ski area in the Berkshires, combined with the resort’s existing 1.5 megawatt wind turbine and 75 kilowatt cogeneration unit will take care of 90 percent of Jiminy’s electric needs. Tyler Fairbank, CEO of Jiminy Peak, said that with additional conservation efforts he hopes to push that number up to 100 percent this season.
The switch flipping was ceremonial because construction workers are still a couple of weeks away from attaching that switch to the solar array. When the system does go live it will not send electricity surging towards the chair lifts, snowmaking guns and French fry machines. The sun made juice will go into the power company’s grid and will be credited to Jiminy Peak’s account.
In the winter months Jiminy Peak is the largest ski and snowboard resort in southern New England. Summer and fall the resort is home to mountain adventure parks.
Year-round, Jiminy offers on-mountain lodging options including a 102 one-bedroom suite Country Inn as well as two and three bedroom vacation homes and condominiums. Jiminy Peak specializes in meetings, events and weddings. The resort was the first in North America to generate power from its own 1.5 megawatt wind turbine.
More:
- Ski Area Wind Turbines? Another Way to Be Green, February 24, 2011.
- Ski Butternut: The Real Deal for Northeast Families, December 4, 2013.
- Connecticut’s Family Favorite: Ski Sundown, March 4, 2015.
© 2015 – 2019, braveskimom. All rights reserved. Any use or publication of content, including photos, requires express permission.