Three state operated ski resorts, including Gore
\nMountain in North Creek, have committed to using
\nsolar power to operate ski lift and snowmaking
\noperations and will get help from New York state
\nin doing so.<\/p>\n
The other two are at Belleayre and Whiteface
\nMountain.<\/p>\n
“By using renewable energy to power major
\noperations at these world-class ski resorts, we
\nare building upon this administration’s commitment
\nto expand this state’s use of renewal energy,
\nstrengthen this important, job-creating economic
\nsector, and reduce New York’s carbon footprint,”
\nsaid Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “This exciting news
\nis just one more reason to visit one of New York’s
\npremier ski resorts this winter.”
\nA 25-year power purchase agreement with
\nBorrego Solar is the most recent environmental
\ninitiative the state and ORDA have undertaken to
\nrun its business units with increased sustainability and efficiency.<\/p>\n
The solar energy for Gore, produced at a location
\nin Washington County, is expected to reduce
\nGore’s energy bill by over $213,000 during the first
\nyear. Borrego’s projections indicate that the three
\nski resorts could save as much $14-million over the
\n25-year period, utilizing more than 10 megawatts
\nof solar power.<\/p>\n
It is also in keeping with the Reforming the Energy
\nVision’s NY-Sun initiative, a $1-billion initiative
\nto advance the scale-up of solar and move the state
\ncloser to having a sustainable, self-sufficient solar
\nindustry as New York builds a clean, resilient and
\naffordable energy system.<\/p>\n
Gore Mountain is home to the most skiable
\nterrain and largest lift infrastructure in New York
\nstate, and its massive snowmaking system, lift
\noperations, and other electrical equipment use
\nabout 13-million kilowatt hours of power and cost approximately $1 million in utility costs each year,
\naccording to state officials.<\/p>\n
The solar projects received support from NYSun
\nthrough the New York State Energy Research
\nand Development Authority (NYSERDA), which
\nadministers the initiative.<\/p>\n
“With this initiative ORDA will substantially
\nreduce its carbon footprint essentially akin to
\nremoving over 46,000 cars from the road over the
\nlife of the agreement,” said ORDA chairman Pat
\nBarrett. “We want to make sure that this wonderful
\nrecreational sport stays around for generations
\nto come.”<\/p>\n
“These projects demonstrate an innovative use
\nof solar energy, which is helping a wide range of
\nbusinesses across New York state reduce electricity
\ncosts and preserve the environment,” said John B.
\nRhodes, president and CEO, NYSERDA.<\/p>\n
The solar power project is the latest sustainable
\nendeavor for all three resorts. Over the past two
\nyears, Gore Mountain has added 260 low-energy high-efficiency guns to its snowmaking fleet, along
\nwith a several powerful fan guns, state officials said.<\/p>\n
Low-energy, high-efficiency guns use the same
\namount of water as a traditional gun, but the air
\nthat these guns use is 25 percent of a traditional
\ngun. The energy savings come from running compressors
\nfor a shorter period of time, while making
\nmore snow in less time and shortening the snowmaking
\nseason.<\/p>\n
Officials said over the last two seasons, Gore
\nhas operated more lifts for more days than ever
\nbefore, while using less energy than in past. It has
\nreceived three international Silver Eagle awards:
\nfor Excellence in Environmental Group Relations,
\nEnvironmental Education, and Excellence of
\nVisual Impact Resources.<\/p>\n
According to the governor’s office, under NYSun,
\nthe growth of solar in New York state has
\nincreased more than 300 percent from 2011 to
\n2014, which is twice the rate of U.S. solar growth
\noverall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three state operated ski resorts, including Gore Mountain in North Creek, have committed to using solar power to operate ski lift and snowmaking operations and will get help from New York state in doing so. The other two are…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,79,117,118],"class_list":["post-17577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business-news","tag-business-news","tag-energy","tag-north-creek","tag-ny-state"],"yoast_head":"\r\n