Mt. Abram, Maine, installs new solar array


Mt. Abram, Maine, just completed construction on a new solar array that will help the ski area control cost and cut fossil fuel consumption. Photo: Courtesy of Mt. Abram

Mt. Abram, Maine, just completed construction on a new solar array that will help the ski area control cost and cut fossil fuel consumption. Photo courtesy Mt. Abram



When looking for role models in the ski-resort industry, tiny Mt. Abram in Greenwood, Maine, may not be the first place that comes to mind. This 1,150-foot, 560-skiable-acre hill, however, is helping lead the charge when it comes to environmental sustainability initiatives. Most recently, Mt. Abram completed an 803-panel solar array capable of producing 280,000 kwh of energy annually—enough to supply 70 percent of Abram’s power usage.


The array is the second largest in Maine, behind only a massive 4,000-panel project that was recently completed at Bowdoin College, and just ahead of a 700-panel array installed at Thomas College in Waterville in 2013.


The new solar array at Mt. Abram, Maine, will produce enough electricity to power the ski area's snowmaking system. Photo: Courtesy of Mt. Abram

The new solar array at Mt. Abram, Maine, will produce enough electricity to power the ski area’s snowmaking system. Photo courtesy Mt. Abram



There is a marketing and public-relations element to Mt. Abram’s decision, for sure. “There is a growing segment of the population that expects the companies that they support to be environmentally responsible,” says Jamie Schectman, cofounder of the Mountain Riders Alliance, which manages the 50-year-old area. But the project also has a huge financial upside for the resort.


“Electricity is the number-two cost in the ski industry, behind payroll,” says Schectman. Of the electrical cost, snowmaking is usually the biggest draw. It’s also unpredictable and is higher during lean years, when visitation and revenue are most likely to be down.


“This will certainly be able to lower Mt Abram’s operating expenses over the long run,” says Dave Scanlan, MRA co-founder and general manager for Mt. Abram. “Our new solar array will offset all of the electric we use to run our snowmaking system. This will stabilize our [usage] and allow us to purchase our remaining power at a lower rate than we have in the past. Combine that with the fixed price of solar and you have win-win.”


The solar array at Mt. Abram is great for business, but in the end, it's all about saving the snow. Photo: Courtesy of Mt. Abram

The solar array at Mt. Abram is great for business, but in the end, it’s all about saving the snow. Photo courtesy Mt. Abram



Mt. Abram received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program covering 25 percent of the almost $1 million project. Expected payback on the system from savings on their energy costs is about four years.


The is far from the first environmental initiative Mt. Abram has implemented since owners Matt Hancock and Rob Lally bought the area in 2008. The ski area has replaced its oil boiler with a carbon-neutral, locally sourced wood-pellet boiler, added two electric-vehicle chargers for customers to use, replaced their snowmaking system with 60 low-energy HKD tower guns, and this winter will be testing a new high-efficiency system from Italian manufacturer Nivis. The ski area also offers $79 carload Fridays, where everyone in a single car can ski for a total price of $79, to encourage carpooling.


“In 2011, prior to the lodge fire [from a lightning strike in July 2011], zero percent of our energy expenses were locally sourced,” says Hancock. “In 2014, between pellets for our base area heating and almost 300,000 kwh annually from solar, 33 percent will be local and/or renewable.”


Mt. Abram won the 2012 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence from the National Ski Areas Association. Photo: Courtesy of Mt. Abram.

Mt. Abram won the 2012 Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence from the National Ski Areas Association. Photo courtesy Mt. Abram.



In 2012, Mt. Abram was honored with the Golden Eagle Award for Environmental Excellence from the National Ski Areas Association, along with Stevens Pass, Washington, and Aspen-Snowmass, Colorado.


“We at Mt Abram feel that doing good business is more than just making good profits,” says Scanlan. “It is about doing good for the environment and good for our community, which will lead to good profits. A mountain that takes care of their community and collaborates toward a unified vision for sustainable futures ultimately ends up with a large body of people that understand the economic role and importance of the mountain within the community.”


So far, the strategy seems to be working. Since 2011, the ski area has grown skier visits by 35 percent and revenue by 20 percent, according to Schectman.


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Written by: editor - Wednesday, October 22, 2014

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