18 • NSAA Journal • December 2009/January 2010 w w w. n s a a . o r g

Renewable Energy and Public LandsTHE GREEN ROOM

With a new federal administration encouraging renewable energy development, expanding state and federal tax credits and grant programs, and a burgeoning clean energy industry, the time seems ripe for resorts looking to move past renewable energy credits to develop and showcase their own on-site renew-able energy projects. Yet, even in such a seemingly favorable climate, what are the realities of permitting and installing renewable energy projects that make financial and environmental sense?

T he question is particularly perti-

nent for the many U.S. resorts

located on or adjacent to federal

land. While the administration in its early

days has championed the development of

renewable energy projects on federal land,

the process remains far from straight-

forward. Yet a handful of projects in the

works are shedding important light on the

future prospects for ski resorts looking to

power their own future.

THE AGENCIES RESPONDTwo main federal land management agen-

cies are most relevant to ski resorts and

their renewable energy ambitions – the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

and, in particular, the U.S. Forest Service

(USFS). While the idea of renewable energy

on federal lands is not new, both have

recently been tasked to respond to calls for

expanded renewable energy development.

In June, the U.S. Senate Appropriations

Committee asked both agencies to develop

criteria for determining proper site loca-

tions of renewable energy projects on land

under their jurisdiction. In addition, Title

II of the 2005 Energy Policy Act guides the

Secretary of the Interior to develop 10,000

megawatts of non-hydropower renewable

energy on federal lands within 10 years.

Most recently, in early October, President

Obama issued an Executive Order directing

federal agencies to step up their commit-

News and Views from the Sustainable Front

• BY DAVE WORTMAN, PROGRAMMANAGER, BRENDLE GROUP

ment to sustainability – including the use

of renewable energy. Interior Secretary Ken

Salazar has responded in-kind with a series

of orders and announcements to bolster

renewable energy development.

In response, the BLM has been inun-

dated with applications for renewable

energy projects – as of mid-2009, the

agency had received proposals for more

than 450 projects. The surge in applica-

tions prompted the Department of the

Interior in March to create a special task

force to expedite the review and approval

of renewable energy projects on public

land and identify specific areas suitable

for solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass

projects. A Programmatic Environmental

Impact Statement was also prepared under

the National Environmental Policy Act to

streamline environmental review of wind

projects. Finally in May, Secretary Salazar

announced four new permitting offices to

support permitting efforts. Still, the agency

remains significantly overstretched and

currently has a five-year backlog of appli-

cations. “Even with the additional staff, it’s

probably going to get worse before it gets

better,” says Nathanael Greene, director of

Renewable Energy Policy for the Natural

Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Of more importance to ski resorts,

USFS, in contrast, is in its infancy in

dealing with proposals for significant

renewable energy development. While

small solar photovoltaic systems on roof-

tops, chairlifts, and other facilities are

common at ski resorts – and in 2005 the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

assessed the potential for renewable

energy on national forests – to date there

have been no significant renewable energy

projects developed on national forests.

This has left ski resorts, many of which are

located on or adjacent to national forests,

largely playing a guessing game as to how

the agency will respond to future requests.

“While the U.S. Forest Service is

certainly receptive to wind and other

renewable energy projects, there’s currently

no agency policy guidance,” says Laurie

Jodziewicz, siting manager for the American

Wind Energy Association. “Until the agency

finalizes its directives, projects are going to

be handled on a case-by-case basis.”

The USFS currently evaluates big

renewable energy projects as “special

uses,” much like other commercial uses

of national forest land. The process

requires an initial screening of the project

to ensure the use is in the public interest

and compatible with other uses of national

forest land, followed by a formal applica-

tion, environmental review, and permit-

ting. Beyond this process, it’s largely left to

each ranger district on each national forest

as to how projects are evaluated.

“We’re really behind the eight ball

agency-wide,” says Jim Stark, winter

An Opportunity or Risk for Resorts?

w w w. n s a a . o r g December 2009/January 2010 • NSAA Journal • 19

sports administrator for the Aspen-Sopris

district in Colorado’s White River National

Forest. Stark, who has been working with

Aspen-Snowmass on the feasibility of a

proposed wind project, emphasizes the

need to lay out a cookbook for how to

handle these types of projects. Until such

a guide is developed, individual resorts are

left to work within the priorities of their

local ranger district and national forest.

Many eyes are cast on the proposed

Deerfield wind project on the Green

Mountain National Forest in southern

Vermont, the first proposed significant

renewable energy project on a national

forest. With a proposed 17 wind turbines

producing a combined output of about 35

megawatts of power, the project, which has

been in the works since 2004, has cleared

some initial hurdles that offer optimism for

such future projects on national forests. In

its screening of the project, Green Mountain

National Forest found it to be consistent

with its land and resource management

plan and an appropriate use of public land.

An Environmental Impact Statement for

the project is currently being finalized.

RESORTS LEADING THE WAYA small handful of resorts have pioneered

the development of significant on-site

renewable energy projects – though none

have yet to develop large-scale projects

on public land. In Massachusetts, Jiminy

Peak’s now well-known 1.5-megawatt

wind turbine is on private land, as are two

other wind projects: a recently installed

turbine at Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont

and a proposed turbine at Berkshire East

in Massachusetts. California’s Kirkwood

Mountain Resort is moving ahead with

plans to install 20 wind turbines to

generate more than 20 percent of its

commercial and residential demand.

While the USFS has shown a distinct

interest in the project, it has yet to move

through the permitting process.

Among the other resorts currently

working with federal agencies on a renew-

able energy project is Pennsylvania’s Blue

Mountain Ski Area. According to resort

President Barb Green, Blue Mountain has

been pursuing development of a wind

project for the last 12 months, facing chal-

lenges along the way. The Appalachian

National Scenic Trail runs across the top

of the mountain, and the resort is located

along a major flyway for migratory birds.

Green says the National Park Service, which

manages the trail, remains undecided in its

position on the wind turbine. But she says

Blue Mountain remains committed to seeing

the project succeed as a way to reduce the

resort’s carbon footprint by 40 percent.

“We have the opportunity to do some-

thing about the global warming issue,” says

Green. “I’m committed to see that happen.”

Meanwhile, Aspen Skiing Company

(ASC) made headlines last year with the

deployment of a new 147 kW solar photo-

voltaic array on property owned by a local

school in Carbondale, Colo., but it’s their

proposed wind project that’s caught the

eye of resorts looking for project oppor-

tunities on federal lands. Teamed up with

Leitner-Poma of America and the Aspen-

Sopris Ranger District of the White River

National Forest, ASC has installed a mete-

orological tower at Snowmass to explore

the potential for wind energy develop-

ment on the mountain. If data shows

wind conditions are favorable, ASC may

move ahead with the installation of three

turbines that would provide two-thirds of

the company’s power needs.

Stark says the project to date has

received community support across the

board, one key consideration to having the

USFS on board with the project. If ASC

decides to move ahead with the project,

Stark realizes he’ll be forging new ground

in reviewing a renewable energy project on

his district. Stark says he’s received several

calls from other ski resorts to seek advice

on working with the USFS on their own

on-site renewable energy projects.

Still, many questions remain about

the viability of the project. Even if the

wind resource is present, Rick Spear, pres-

ident of Leitner-Poma of America, says

other issues such as maintaining public

support and being able to get turbine

components up the mountain’s slopes

must be addressed. But, Stark adds, all

three parties are committed to seeing the

project succeed. “We’re all very serious

about this project.”

ADvICE FOR RESORTSWith so little precedent for ski resorts

looking to site projects on federal land,

should interested resorts move ahead with

their own projects? Early indications show

the USFS is willing to work with resorts to

support renewable energy, and others offer

words of encouragement to increase the

chance of success. NRDC’s Greene suggests

employing an integrated design team from

the outset so that all issues, from aesthetics

to wildlife, can be addressed proactively.

“Get good data and do front-end

scoping, both internally and externally,

with the community,” says USFS’s Stark,

who’s encouraged at the prospects of the

Snowmass project. “If we have the right

place, it’s definitely the right time and the

right atmosphere.”

Dave Wortman is a program manager

at Brendle Group (www.brendlegroup.

com), a Fort Collins, Colorado-based

engineering consulting firm focused on

sustainability and specializing in work

with the ski industry. n

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