Community Energy was on hand in mid-August to celebrate the completion of the first wind turbine at a ski resort in North America.

Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort (www.JiminyPeak.com), in Hancock, MA, dedicated their very own wind turbine, which now towers almost 400 feet from the top of the mountain, in front of hundreds of guests, dignitaries and wind supporters. Named “Zephyr” as the result of a national name-the-turbine contest, it will generate 4.6 million kilowatt hours each year – about 33 percent of the total electricity consumption of the resort, or enough to power over 400 typical homes. The celebration marked the culmination of a three year endeavor to dramatically reduce energy consumption at the resort and further preservation efforts on the mountain.

Community Energy played a key role in financing the project by agreeing to purchase all of the Renewable Energy Credits generated by what is likely the only wind turbine you reach by a chairlift. “We wouldn’t be standing here celebrating Zephyr’s completion without Community Energy’s involvement as the REC purchaser,” said Brian Fairbank Jiminy Peak’s president and CEO.

Global warming is expected to negatively impact ski resorts. With rising temperatures and increased dependence on snowmaking equipment, ski resorts may already be suffering the consequences. The ski industry in recent years has launched the “Keep Winter Cool” (www.KeepWinterCool.org) and “Sustainable Slopes” campaigns, and ski resorts like Aspen/Snowmass in Colorado, Windham Mountain in New York, and Shawnee Peak in Maine are just some of the resorts that buy renewable energy from Community Energy . The National Ski Areas Association reports that 58 resorts in 16 states offset all or part of their electricity use with renewable energy.

Zephyr is the largest construction project since Jiminy Peak opened in 1948. Fairbank, the driving force behind the resort’s effort to harness the wind, said a combination of wind power and resort conservation will reduce the resort’s energy cost by almost 50% in 2007-08.