 Poster: A snowHead
|
 Vail Resorts Inc. announced that it will buy enough renewable energy to cover electricity use for all of its ski areas and more making it second-largest corporate user of wind power in the US. The energy will cover power use at its five ski resorts, its lodging properties, all 125 retail locations operated through Specialty Sports Venture and its new corporate headquarters... To do this, the company will buy about 152,000 megawatt hours of wind-power credits from Boulder-based Renewable Choice Energy. Vail will not actually be powered by wind, but the credits will pump more wind energy into the nation's electric grid, reducing the amount of coal and natural gas used.
Vail owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge ski areas in Colorado, and Heavenly in Nevada and California, and Grand Teton Lodge Co. near Jackson, Wyoming, making it the second-largest ski operator in North America, after Intrawest Corp., based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Vail is also offering free lift tickets to people who go to its Web site, www.snow.com and agree to buy wind power for a year.
Rival ski area operator, Aspen Skiing Co., announced plans last March to go 100 percent "green" at its four Colorado ski areas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Seems like a pretty great idea to me. I keep reading criticisms about wind power, the most recent that a turbine was interfering with television reception during the world cup, and that it isnt really all that viable an alternative. Against this I recall reading about one of the Institutes of Tech here in Irl that derives about 50% of its energy from a single wind turbine on its campus. Its usually as windy as hell here, and I really cant understand why more use isnt made of it, but i would love to see more! So hats off to Vail resorts, I hope it works out for them and that more companies follw suit...
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
|
A mainly symbolic move - but symbols are important...
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Seems to me a notional way of showing that the resort is green. Bottom line is that it isn't using renewables itself. In practice, wind power would be quite unsuitable on those beautiful blue-sky, windless days so often featured in the brochures. Actually, they would also be quite useless on such days where they actually are. I think some renewables are in with a shout at being useful. Hydro-electric for a start (though it is not without environmental side-effects), and, to some extent tidal power. But wind genrators have to have alternative power supply on short-notice stand-by, and cover an enormous area for any sensible power output. I think politicians like them, because they are conspicuous symbols, But they are little, if any, real benefit to the environment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I would have thought it an option at the Lecht and possibly Glenshee where proximty to overhead power lines, lift pylones and at glenshee a lack of mains power, would provide a good context for a medium scale scheme. However there may be problems of turblence which limit the size of generators possible.
Micro hydro may also be suitable at some of the scottish Centres. At Aonach Mor the runoff from the hill alreday goes straight into the catchment for the Aluminium power station.
Our new office here in the Dales is heated by a ground source pump and the under floor heating works superbly. That seems to me to be an ideal way to generate space heating at a ski resort, particularly if the cost of running the pumps could be offset by wind or hydro.
The issue however is investment costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
)
