Shawnee Peak also received a grant from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which helped with the upfront cost. Solar prices have dropped 75% in the past ten years, making it easier for small family-owned businesses like Shawnee Peak to transition to renewable energy. Locking in our energy costs for the foreseeable future was also quite attractive.” “We look at everything we do from an investment standpoint and up until now, the project economics were not favorable,” admitted Geoff Homer, “however, the declining costs.
This is the amount of energy required to light a house for 55 years, drive around New England 92 times, or make 1,759,520 cups of hot cocoa for that perfect mid-morning ski break!Īlthough the Homers had wanted to install solar for a while, the cost of the system had been too big a hurdle for a while. The two solar arrays, installed the second week of October, will provide 32,991 kilowatt-hours a year of clean energy. Add in the lights illuminating Shawnee’s famous night-skiing trails and you have a pretty hefty energy demand. Chairlifts, snow-making equipment, cafeteria kitchens, and high-tech ticket scanners all add up to create an impressively high electric bill, with variable spikes and surges. Ski resorts are notoriously high energy consumers. Speaking recently about their decision to go solar, Geoffrey Homer said, “My father, Chet, and I have long wanted to have a solar plant at Shawnee Peak and we had many dialogues with Phil Coupe over the years! We’ve long felt it would be beneficial for the mountain and hopefully something that our customers will appreciate.” Chet and Geoffrey Homer, the father-son team who has owned the resort since 1994, have been dreaming about solar for some time. Shawnee Peak in Bridgton installed two solar arrays at the base of the 256-acre mountain – one on top of the East Base Lodge and one on the Ski Wee building. The oldest ski mountain in Maine is taking big steps toward a clean energy future.