The State of New Hampshire, which owns Cannon Mountain, contracted with Ameresco, Inc., a leading energy efficiency and renewable energy company, for the project in July 2016.
The work to install and enact energy efficiency and conservation measures for both Cannon’s snowmaking and energy-supply systems has been underway for the past year.
“I would like to congratulate the team at Ameresco on receiving the 2017 State of New Hampshire Governor’s Award for Energy Efficiency for your work at Cannon Mountain,” stated Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
"Recognizing that a clean environment and economic development go hand-in-hand, we must work together to combat climate change and protect the beautiful natural resources that make New Hampshire unique. Businesses like Ameresco are pioneers in driving our economy forward, developing cutting-edge projects and services that improve lives and the world around us.”
“The completion of this project is a significant achievement in support of the state’s commitment to reduce its energy consumption 50 percent by 2030,” said Commissioner Jeffrey Rose of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, which oversees operation of Cannon Mountain. “No matter how you look at it, this project is a win-win. It helps us achieve our overall efficiency and sustainability goals while reducing energy consumption and energy costs, and provides critical upgrades to important ski area infrastructure.”
“Ameresco commends the State of New Hampshire and Cannon Mountain for their leadership and commitment to efficiently utilizing energy and water resources,” said David J. Anderson, Executive Vice President, Ameresco. “This year-long initiative helped institute an innovative approach to more efficient snow making and ski condition management at Cannon Mountain, and is a valuable model that other ski resorts could emulate.”
Ameresco worked with experienced local subcontractors G.W. Tatro Construction and Royal Electric to complete the project. Each has years of experience working with ski areas.
"G.W. Tatro has been working with Cannon for over 30 years. This job was a great challenge and we were thrilled to once again find ourselves on the mountain. We had the good fortune to work with Ameresco, and we’re proud to have been a part of a project that is so important to increasing the sustainability of these slopes," said Gregory Tatro, Owner of G.W. Tatro Construction.
“Royal Electric is always excited to be part of projects local to our area. Working at Cannon Mountain with Ameresco and the subcontractors on this project has been a great experience. Many of our employees ski at Cannon and enjoy all that Franconia Notch has to offer. This has made this project much more personal. The upgrades will provide much greater reliability of the electrical system, reduce energy consumption, and provide Cannon with increased capacity for the services that they provide to our community for years to come,” said Elie Roy, Project Manager for Royal Electric.
The largest of the energy conservation measures was to replace 388 existing energy intensive land based air/water snow guns with tower mounted low-energy snow guns, and some portables.
The new tower guns greatly reduced compressed air energy as well as the labor required to move the old land guns around the mountain. Twelve-hundred feet of water/air lines were also added, as well as a new pump house located at 3,170 feet, to expand Cannon Mountains snow making ability at higher elevations.
The project’s conservation measures also included replacement of Cannon’s main-trunk power line with a new and more efficient primary power supply line and high- and low-voltage transformer to help increase power reliability and energy efficiency. In addition, upgrades were performed to enhance lighting and weatherization. These provide significant energy savings and improve operational efficiency on the mountain.
The project was funded through the state’s energy performance contract, and is budget-neutral, with savings from the reduction in energy to be used to pay-off the bond within 16 years. Annual energy cost savings are expected to be approximately $386,000.
