Charge up electric vehicles at Killington Resort in Vermont
Vermont’s Killington is now New England’s largest electric car charging hub with a total of 47 electric vehicle chargers throughout the resort’s properties. These chargers include 30 Tesla and 17 universal.
As a part of parent company POWDR’s Play Forever sustainability efforts, Killington and Pico added additional electric vehicles chargers throughout Killington Resort and Pico Mountain at the Sykeship Base Area, Snowshed Base Area, Snowshed Upper Parking Lot, K-1 Base Area and Pico Base Area for a total of 47 electric car chargers.
“It is our goal to make Killington and Pico world-class properties in sustainability, and we have high expectations for ourselves and from our guests to be innovative when it comes to environmental responsibility,” said Mike Solimano, president and general manager of Killington Resort. “The addition of the electric vehicle chargers provide access to our guests who have electric vehicles and an opportunity for more guests to see having an EV is a viable option to reduce their carbon footprint while visiting our resorts.”
Solar panel installed at Killington for 3 million kWh annually
Killington and Pico also have eight new solar installations on-site for 2017-18, including fourteen AllEarth Solar Trackers which have been designed, tested and engineered in Vermont. The units use GPS technology to follow the sun throughout the day, allowing them to produce up to 45 percent more energy than a fixed system. The trackers, plus three new rooftop installations on the Pico Base Lodge, Pico Administration Building and Killington Golf Course Maintenance Building are expected to generate approximately 200,000 kWh of clean electricity annually.
In addition to the on-mountain solar installations, Killington partnered with Namaste Solar to develop four off-site solar farms within a short drive from the mountain. The four projects will generate more than 3,100,000 kWh of electricity per year, which is more than 10 percent of the resort’s annual usage. The electricity produced from all solar initiatives would power 370 homes annually and conserve 2,471 metric tons of CO2, according to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.
Other ski areas with EV charging (be aware of port levels and Tesla exclusivity) include:
Steven Pass, WA;
Northstar, Squaw Valley, Tahoe area CA;
Diamond Peak, Tahoe area NV
Snowbird, Brighton, Park City, UT
Copper, Breckenridge, Vail, Snowmass, Steamboat in Colorado
Jackson Hole, WY
This article was contributed by Martha Wilson of SnoCountry.com