Winter Sports Are Boosted by Renewables

Operating and maintaining profitable ski resorts often cost a lot and require a significant amount of energy. Nowadays, when climate change seems to be one of the hottest topics, eco-conscious resort owners say they have found a new way of curbing greenhouse gas emissions while saving more than a few extra dollars.

Less energy coming from eco-friendly sources appears to be a key element in this puzzle. Moreover, renewables play an important part. Whistler Blackcomb resort from British Columbia, Canada is ready to display some green creative improvements and share the secret with all ski fans, National Geographic reports.

They plan to use only clean power provided by “on-site natural resources of water and gravity.”

The Fitzsimmons project will capture and use the power of the Fitzsimmons River, crossing the resort. The running water is meant to put water turbines at work to generate energy. If this plan is put into practice, the developers say it would supply the entire grid with 32 gigawatt-hours of electricity.

This is more than enough, since it represents the declared annual energy consumption of the eco-conscious resort. Besides saving money and minimizing its ecological footprint, Whistler Blackcomb will most likely attract an even more significant number of tourists, keen on enjoying winter sports while still embracing green values.

New energy initiatives won't spoil all the fun through shortages and will guarantee their contribution to climate change is minimal.

"We truly believe that an environmental ethic is there among most skiers and snowboarders.They will make choices on where to go based on a lot of factors but, given the opportunity, one of them is the environmental responsibility of the ski areas themselves," Warren Rider, of the Ski Areas Citizens Coalition (SACC) and Rocky Mountain Wild.

Going green represents a major achievement, taking into account that Whistler Blackcomb is a popular choice, since it continues to display the most “skiable terrain available in the world, ” according to its website.