Case Studies: Sugarbush Resort
Tim Jones
Sugarbush Resort
Warren, Vermont
Tim Jones is the Environmental Compliance Coordinator at Sugarbush Ski Resort, where his primary responsibilities are taking care of regulatory compliance permits and working on environmental initiatives: from waste management to emissions. In the summer of 2003 Jason Lisai, the Vice President of Planning and Development, was motivated to improve the environmental responsibility and image of the resort. He started the process by hiring an intern from Middlebury College to research the feasibility of a biodiesel initiative. After successfully completing a pilot test using B20 in a Kubota tractor, Sugarbush decided to dedicate all the grooming equipment at Mt. Ellen to B20 that winter. A matching grant from Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, helped offset the additional cost of the biodiesel portion of the fuel.
Tim first found out about biodiesel while he was working in the energy resources field years ago and has been interested in it ever since. By the time he was hired at Sugarbush, the management team was responding to a groundswell of awareness and interest in biodiesel among area residents and was getting ready to give it a try. In that first ski season, from November to April of 2004, Sugarbush used 15,000 gallons of B20 (with 10% kerosene added). Resort-wide, the amount of fuel used is approximately 70,000 gallons per season and includes use in trail grooming equipment, compressors and HVAC motors.
Last winter Sugarbush had biodiesel delivered by Chris Keyser, owner of Proctor Oil. It was splash blended into regular diesel storage tanks at the resort to reach a B20 blend.
There was some concern expressed at Sugarbush about switching to this "experimental fuel" during the critical operating period (ski season), but there were no problems experienced with supply or any other aspect of the transition. Those who had doubts about bringing it in were actually impressed by how smoothly everything went. There was consideration given to installing an additional external filter on the fuel pump but the need for one never actually arose.
Sugarbush Resort is a member of "Sustainable Slopes", which is sponsored by the National Ski Areas Association and has standards for reducing the environmental footprint of ski resorts. Tim has put together energy and environmental management plans for Sugarbush to track their progress from season to season, and has many projects that he hopes to initiate over time. "Keep Winter Cool" is the Sustainable Slopes slogan, and through public relations efforts the resort has been able to educate and demonstrate the applications of biodiesel and its ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (as contrasted to petroleum). Feedback from skiers and boarders has been very positive and there are plans in the works to expand biodiesel usage resort-wide.
Aside from attending and presenting at a few conferences, Tim has been sharing information with other resorts, like Smugglers' Notch and Stratton, where there is significant interest and incentive to start using biodiesel. Tim's personal hope in providing a working model, is that more and more people will be informed about what biodiesel is and how relatively easy it is to start using it in any diesel engine. Ski resorts are often financially constrained, but he hopes that the environmental factors, in addition to the positive public image, will inspire them to make the transition.