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AUDI FIS SKI WORLD CUP AT SQUAW VALLEY | ALPINE MEADOWS IS 100% CARBON NEUTRAL, TO BE OFFSET BY $50K LOCAL SOLAR PROJECT
[Olympic Valley, Calif.] March 8, 2017 – In November 2016, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows committed to hosting the first ever carbon neutral alpine world cup event and today announces that the offset will be made over the next 16 years by a solar project on the Squaw Kids building, to be constructed this summer by local Truckee company Simple Power. The installation will provide clean, year-round power to numerous lifts and facilities at Squaw Valley. The footprint of the event has been evaluated at 400 metric tons of carbon dioxide and validated by independent analysis from Terrapass. The footprint takes into account all mountain operations associated with the event, including snowmaking, dedicated lifts and grooming as well as the travel emissions, accommodations and meals of the athletes, coaches, and World Cup staff.
The 52 panel solar project, to be constructed in summer 2017, will save the resort from emitting 25 tons of carbon dioxide annually from purchased electricity, equaling 400 tons over the next 16 years. The cost of approximately $50K, will be financed by MPOWER, a Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program. PACE is a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy installations for residential, commercial and industrial property owners.
Simple Power solar, based out of Truckee, CA, will design and construct the project. Simple Power is a certified NABCEP photovoltaic installer, the industry’s highest accreditation and recognition of excellence. The installation will provide 32.2 megawatts per hour annually (2,681 kWh per month) of emissions-free power to the following areas at Squaw Valley all year long:
• Solitude, Silverado, top of Mountain Meadow
• Bailey’s Beach , Belmont, Mountain Meadow
• Emigrant, 12 fan guns
• Gold Coast complex (rental, retail, restaurants, incinerator)
• Gold Coast lift, Upper Lift Maintenance shop, Upper Vehicle Maintenance shop, Terrain park shop, top of Siberia lift
• Gold Coast pump station
• Siberia lift, Siberia Patrol
• Big Blue, Broken Arrow
• Squaw One
• Headwall
• Booster station
• KT 22, Race services, fan guns
• Exhibition, Children’s world, Red Dog 3 conveyors, 3 well pumps
• Olympic Lady, top of Far East, top of Exhibition
• Funitel
To view a rendering of the project, click here.
More Environmental Initiatives at World Cup Squaw Valley:
Protect Our Winters (POW) Phone It In Booth
A Protect Our Winters “Phone it In Booth” will be setup in The Village at Squaw Valley throughout World Cup, providing easy, customizable scripts and information to call your elected officials and have your voice heard, with the goal of reminding representatives to support legislation on climate change efforts and protections of our environment and public lands.
SWAG Coat Drive
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is dedicated to preserving our winters and alpine environment for current and future generations. The World Cup will be 100% carbon neutral, and in an effort to share a commitment to sustainability with World Cup fans, the resort will host a coat drive to reuse retired jackets for those in need. Since 2009, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has donated over 10,000 retired jackets to NSAA’s Sharing Warmth Around the Globe (SWAG) and other natural disaster relief efforts and encourages all World Cup fans to bring their retired jackets. Donations can be dropped off at the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows booth, right next to the Phone It In Booth located in The Village at Squaw Valley. The first 200 coat donations will receive a free reusable Drink Mountain Tap water bottle.
Drink Mountain Tap
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows encourages guests to carry a reusable water bottle and stay hydrated for free with Squaw Valley’s great tasting mountain tap water at over 20 refill locations across the resort. As part of its Drink Mountain Tap initiative, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has discontinued selling single-use water bottles, and as a result, will remove over at least 28,000 bottles from our waste stream and landfills each season.
POW Parking: Free Premium Parking for Carpools
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows has partnered with Protect Our Winters (POW) to offer free premium parking to guests who carpool to the resort with four or more passengers in the vehicle. Protect Our Winters, founded by professional snowboarder and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows athlete Jeremy Jones, is a non-profit whose mission is to engage and mobilize the winter sports community to lead the fight against climate change. The POW Parking program aligns with the resort’s mission to reduce its carbon footprint, raise awareness about how transportation contributes to climate change and promote carpooling and efficient transportation within the region.
Eco-Friendly Transportation Options
In addition to POW Parking, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will offer a number of free mass transportation options for World Cup spectators, including 48-passenger coach buses from Truckee and Tahoe City and Chariot transit within Squaw Valley. Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows supports regional transportation solutions, working in collaboration with Placer County, local law enforcement and regional transit agencies in order to fund and implement ideas that will improve transportation as well as reduce its carbon footprint. The resort has installed four electric car charging stations at the base of Squaw Valley, operates the Squaw Alpine shuttle between the two mountains (with an estimated savings of 38,400 one way trips annually) provides employee shuttles to and from Reno during the winter season, and provides complimentary employee access to Tahoe Area Regional Transit (TART) bus passes.
About Squaw Valley | Alpine Meadows
Voted ‘Best Ski Resort’ in North America for the second year in a row by USA Today and 10Best Readers’ Choice 2017, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is an internationally renowned mountain resort in North Lake Tahoe that spans over 6,000 skiable acres. The resort features slopeside lodging at The Village at Squaw Valley®, which bustles year round with nonstop events and nearly 60 bars, restaurants and boutiques. With an annual average of 450 inches of snowfall and 300 sunny days, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is known as the spring skiing capital as it provides one of the longest ski and snowboard seasons in Lake Tahoe. Skiers and riders of all ability levels are welcomed by over 65 percent beginner and intermediate terrain, 14 easy-to-navigate mountain zones and a custom app to make the most of every visit. Visit squawalpine.com or call 1.800.403.0206 to learn more.
