National Grid & Gore Mountain team up for energy-efficient snowmaking equipment

Making sure the slopes have enough snow on them for the thousands who come to ski and snowboard each season at Gore Mountain is critical to the resort’s success. While Mother Nature does her best to ensure that there is enough powder on the hills, there are times when she needs a little help from snow-making equipment. National Grid’s energy savings programs have funded new, energy efficient snow makers at Gore Mountain over the past few years, helping the business save energy and thousands of dollars in energy costs.

With the help of a National Grid incentive of more than $1.2 million, Gore Mountain has been able to install 136 energy efficient tower-mounted snow guns to produce more than 190 acre feet of snow annually. The new equipment conserves more than 2.1 million kilowatt-hours a year, resulting in energy savings of more than $170,000 annually. “We are grateful to National Grid for their assistance in this project. With the help of their grant, we were able to replace older and inefficient snow-making equipment with equipment that can generate snow at a fraction of the cost. This will be a huge benefit to those who enjoy our resort. In addition to reducing our energy costs, we are thrilled to be doing our part to conserve energy and help preserve our future,” said General Manager, James Bayse.

With this new, energy efficient technology, Gore Mountain uses about the same amount of energy it did two decades ago with a facility that is three times the size. “By helping fund this new, efficient equipment, we are helping Gore Mountain save energy and money, while at same time, we are enabling them to keep more trails open longer which brings more visitors to the community throughout the year,” said Tom Iwinski, Community and Customer Manager at National Grid. “That’s important for the people in this area who depend on the winter sports season as an economic engine to the region.”

Gore Mountain has a long history of energy efficiency measures and finding new, green alternatives for their facilities. Distinguished as the ski resort with the largest dedicated solar array in the nation, Gore Mountain has solidified its commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility. The energy created by the solar panels is not metered into the energy grid but directly offsets Gore’s energy use by an impressive 85%, further reducing its carbon footprint. National Grid offers a variety of energy savings programs for different types of small, medium and large businesses that can help offset costs for commercial energy efficient equipment, heating, cooling and electric systems. To find out more about these programs, visit www.nationalgrid.com and search for “energy saving programs.”