Operating With Efficiency

The nature of our business makes us an energy consumer. Though this fact may stare us in the eye, we are initiating many efforts to be energy efficient, making environmentally responsible choices to decrease energy usage as much as possible.

Our goal is to create our own on-site renewable energy. We are exploring innovative solutions such as wind turbines and anaerobic digesters to create electricity, allowing us to move away from diesel and towards a self-sustained future.

Current Energy Initiatives

• Continuous Energy Improvement (CEI) Program
• CEI is a long-term, comprehensive strategy implemented through Efficiency Vermont for maximizing energy productivity. CEI integrates capital upgrades, process improvements, maintenance, and employee engagement to yield deeper, more sustainable savings. Stratton signed on in 2013 as 1 of 10 private businesses to pilot this program, and is already seeing results through savings measurements. CEI takes the form of both behavioral and infrastructure improvement.
• Stratton continues to participate in Efficiency Vermont’s Energy Leadership Challenge against other energy leaders such as Sugarbush Resort, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Energizer Battery Manufacturing Company.
• Snowmaking Gun Improvements
  • Stratton is constantly making improvements on snowmaking equipment and upgrading to higher efficiency guns. HKD SV10 guns are replacing Royal Roger Knight guns every year. 10 HKD guns were installed in place of 10 Royal Roger Knight Guns in 2013, with a projected savings of 92,920 kWh of energy per year, which is equivalent to 13.7 Vermont homes’ annual electricity use.
  • HKD SV10 snow guns are using 90% less compressed air than Royal Roger Knight guns, which means 1 HKD snow gun produces as much snow as 10 Royal Roger Knight guns.
  • Our goal is to be diesel-free in snowmaking by 2017. High efficiency electric air compressor was installed this year in place of outdated diesel compressor for snowmaking reducing fossil fuel dependence and associated carbon emissions by the equivalent of 451 barrels of oil per year
• Earth Fill Installments
  • The Coca Cola foundation granted us the funds to install 9900 cubic yards of earth fill (dirt) on the tubing hill. The installation of earth fill allows us to operate with much less snow, therefore decreasing amount of snowmaking needed for operation, diverting our energy needs elsewhere.
  • Stratton will continue to pursue options around the mountain of using earth fill in order to reduce amount of resources required for snowmaking
• Efficient Lighting
  • Philips A19 LED light bulbs are being installed in all Stratton-owned retail, corporate buildings, lodges, street lamps, parking lots, and lodging.
  • This particular light bulb saves up to $130 per light bulb in energy use, lasts longer than non-LED light bulb, and is manufactured without the use of mercury.
  • The widespread installation of LED lighting in 2011 resulted in a projected annual savings of 520,923 kWh and $473,089.