Energy mogul | Trendsetting Mt. Abram intends to supply all its own power
Photo/David A. Rodgers
Matt Hancock, co-owner of Mt. Abram ski resort, believes their plan to be more eco-friendly will attract more skiers
When Matt Hancock and Rob Lally bought the 50-year-old Mt. Abram Resort in 2008, the farthest things from their minds were solar fields and low-e snow towers (that’s slang for low-energy). Instead of pursuing alternative energy plans, they first tackled more mundane chores like expanding the lounge and smoothing out the parking lot.
Today, however, now that the taps are flowing and skiers are easily driving in, Hancock has fashioned a two-year plan to transform the ski mountain into not just a net-zero facility — in that it uses as much energy as it produces — but a net-negative one.
“Our plan is to go right by net-zero now,” Hancock says, evoking, perhaps, a ski metaphor here. “We’re trying to be the first net-negative resort out there.”
Negativity for Hancock means that one day not far from now he hopes the Greenwood ski resort will be making enough energy to power its snowmaking equipment, chairlifts and lodges — with extra to spare. And, despite Mt. Abram being small compared to the Sugarloafs and Vails of the world, he wants to fly by every ski resort in the country to arrive there first.
All ski resorts, no matter their size, have a big incentive to run efficient, eco-friendly facilities. Not only do they hope the climate will stay cool enough to ensure many more years of snowy winters, but they’re also burdened with huge energy draws. Snowmaking equipment alone gobbles up 67%, on average, of a ski resorts’ electricity, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Reducing those machines’ appetites is good for the environment and for the budget.
Recently, Hancock and Lally have been pushed a little bit closer to their reduced carbon-footprint dream. Mt. Abram in April was awarded $40,000 by the National Ski Areas Association for 10 new high-efficiency snowmaking guns. Crested Butte in Colorado also won a similar grant.
“That’s cool that [Crested Butte] was used in the same sentence as Mt. Abram,” Hancock said in a recent interview, speaking about the association’s press releases for their Sustainable Slopes grants. “It’s a prestigious recognition within the industry.”
The National Ski Areas Association chose to honor Mt. Abram for being a role model. “It’s impressive that a small resort like that makes such a big effort,” says Troy Hawks, managing editor of the NSAA Journal. “It represents to other small resorts that there are creative ways to implement green programs. You don’t have to be Vail or Aspen to [do this].”
And though it was just one Maine ski mountain that won the award, Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Ski Maine Association in Portland, says the whole Maine ski industry can bask in the glow. “The nice thing about this grant is it gave Maine some national recognition,” he says. “We’re a leader in some ways. Even though we’re not the biggest ski area in the country, we’re embracing new technologies.”
The plan
To make Mt. Abram — which has 44 groomed trails, five ski lifts, two lodges and 115 seasonal and full-time staff at its peak in February — so self-sufficient that it can generate enough energy to power its operations, plus some, Hancock will install 3,190 solar panels in a two-acre solar field.
At the same time, he wants to reduce the resort’s energy consumption from around 450,000 kilowatt hours to 271,000 kilowatt hours and decrease its diesel fuel use from 43,000 gallons to about 17,000 gallons.
The solar panels will cost nearly $4.2 million. Hancock says Mt. Abram will pay for them partly with the savings generated by reducing the mountain’s energy use and partly by selling its excess energy back to Central Maine Power Co.’s grid. Last year, at 11 cents a kilowatt hour, the mountain’s electrical bill was about $49,500 and its fuel expense was roughly $150,000.
The solar field, to be built by Solar Market in Arundel, will produce 733,000 kilowatts in a year, according to Hancock, more than what is needed to make snow for 70 acres of trailed terrain and power its other operating needs. “I needed to build it bigger than what we would use to pay my [loan] note down,” he explains. Hancock made a deal with Solar Market to pay back the loan in 40 years, he says.
The energy overhaul at Mt. Abram purposefully does not include wind turbines. Hancock says he scrapped the idea of building a ridgeline wind farm after seeing how strongly Mainers reacted to proposed turbines that would alter their views.
“Ridge-top wind projects seem to be making the natives restless,” Hancock says. “One thing that struck me with solar is that the visual impact is a lot different.”
The proposed solar field will be sited at the base of the mountain, but out of view of the lodges. “People don’t like looking at the view of a progressive world,” Hancock bemoans. (The field will be easily accessible to those who do want to gaze at the future.)
Along with the 10 snowmaking guns that Mt. Abram will receive with the grant, Hancock plans to buy 50 more guns, for a total investment of under $200,000. Once again, Hancock says the savings in his energy costs will be used to fund the new equipment. Because the guns require less power to run, Hancock says he can cut spending on the electricity he needs for his pump house that pushes water in pipes up the mountain to turn into snow, and for the diesel fuel he needs for the air plant that compresses air for snowmaking. He will also save on personnel costs, since the new equipment will cover more ground more efficiently.
The 60 new guns will join 30 low-e guns already on the mountain and all will be set up for next year’s ski season, Hancock says. And he wants to have the solar field finished in time to capture next summer’s long days, giving the mountain a complete energy facelift in time for the 2011 ski season.
The business angle
There couldn’t be a more fitting industry than ski resorts to pave the way toward a greener future. “They certainly have an incentive to reduce greenhouse gases,” says Dylan Voorhees of the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Sweetser says all the Maine mountains are investing in energy-reducing snowmaking equipment. Next year, resorts will spend $5 million collectively in upgrades, but he wasn’t sure how much of that will specifically be used for greening projects.
Hancock thinks, too, that going green could attract new customers to Mt. Abram. “If we’re the industry leader in guilt-free vacations…well, this is a demographic we’re catering to.” Already, he says, skiers tend to be concerned about the Earth and supportive of businesses that have strong environmental guidelines.
Yet Sweetser, while appreciative of the business rational to invest in more energy-efficient technology, is not so sure skiers will pay much mind — at first. “I think that will have a growing impact over time. The primary motivator for skiers and snowboarders is there is snow and it’s cold.”
But if Hancock is right and skiers who don’t want to worry about how their sport is affecting the climate start coming to Mt. Abram in larger numbers, they’ll add to an already growing trend.
In the last two years, Hancock and Lally have seen skier visits at the resort grow from 36,000 visits in 2008-2009 to 39,000 last season. Revenues increased from $1,147,000 in 2009 to $1,155,000 in 2010. Previous owners Josh and Susan Burns turned a small profit five of the seven years they ran the resort, according to Hancock. He says that he and Lally expect to make a profit in year three, next year.
Hancock attributes the growth to his and Lally’s rebranding effort. No longer is Mt. Abram the place to learn how to ski, but it is also a place for backcountry telemarkers to take advantage of the wild terrain on the mountain’s backside. Mt. Abram has 650 acres in total, and all of it is skiable, Hancock claims, which he believes will lure the growing number of “free-your-heel enthusiasts.”
The new owners have also just received environmental permits to start building 141 new condos. “We’re poised to do incredible things,” Hancock says, beaming.
Sweetser says this kind of excitement could be what is needed to help ensure many more years of skiing here. “People are appreciative that the Maine ski industry is actively taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint,” Sweetser says. “People aren’t going to go back to hiking up the hills with their skis over their shoulder.”
Rebecca Goldfine, a writer based in Dresden, can be reached at rgoldfine@mainebiz.biz.
Most Recent
Most Recent
Comments