JAY, Vt. (WCAX) - Jay Peak is looking to cut its use of fossil fuels, at least partially. A $1 million energy project driven by six partners is looking to break the mold on how large facilities heat their operations, and a pilot program is coming to the Northeast Kingdom resort.
Deep in the basement at the Jay Peak resort complex, 12 propane boilers are keeping Hotel Jay and the water park warm. Electric Compressor
“This winter we had a three-day stretch of negative-30 up here,” said Andy Stenger, the director of facilities at the Jay Peak Resort.
Stenger says keeping the resort and the hotel warm is crucial when temperatures hover around 15 degrees during peak season.
“It takes a tremendous amount of BTU power to heat this facility and the 50,000-square-foot water park,” Stenger said.
Propane has filled their needs, but in an attempt to cut carbon, the resort, like much of Vermont, is looking to an electric future.
“Electrify the heating load at the Jay Peak, Hotel Jay and the water park heating plan,” Stenger said.
An electric boiler will soon allow Jay Peak to switch off of propane and onto electricity whenever the price is right. Software developed by Medley Thermal out of Massachusetts will monitor the cost of electricity through the ISO New England Grid. When electric costs drops below a propane cost threshold, the system will switch and run on electricity, cutting emissions and saving money.
“It should be seamless, there is no big button we push to shut things on or off,” Stenger said.
The resort estimates the software will cut propane consumption at the resort by about 60% and pull 2,500 tons of carbon out of the atmosphere annually. That’s roughly the same as 500 cars pulled from the road.
“This is a truly transformational project that we cannot wait to see get operational,” said Andrea Cohen of the Vermont Electric Co-op.
The Vermont Electric Co-op has made the upgrades to the local power system to ensure the boiler can plug in when it’s delivered.
For the utility, carbon reduction is a benefit, but so is renewable energy consumption.
“To increase the demand for electricity in a place where we have a lot of generation is really optimal and lets the whole system operate more efficiently,” Cohen said.
There are six partners involved in the project, including the states of Vermont and Massachusetts, the Vermont Electric Co-op, Efficiency Vermont, Vermont Gas Systems and Jay Peak.
Back in the basement of Jay Peak, Stenger says he hopes this pushes other resorts to think critically about how they can cut carbon and be part of the solution to a problem that has an acute impact on their industry.
“This is an innovative project, a groundbreaking project that we hope others will follow our lead in,” he said.
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