WHITEFIELD, N.H.—Visitors to the Mountain View Grand Resort & Spa in New Hampshire’s White Mountains can’t miss the 121-foot wind turbine that stands like a tall white tree behind the 144-room hotel and adjacent to the on-property nine-hole golf course. The 100-kilowatt system has been up and running since late last September. According to Gene Ehlert, marketing manager for the resort and spa which sits on 1,700 acres, it is too soon to know exactly what percentage of the property’s electricity needs it will eventually meet, but he said the $500,000 turbine has been meeting about 15 percent of the property’s electricity needs so far. From September 25, 2009, through April 26, 2010, thanks to the turbine, Mountain View Grand avoided producing an estimated 36,375 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
Ehlert says the owners of the resort, Great American Life Insurance Co., paid for the turbine themselves and without any additional public or private support. “The owners just decided it was the right thing to do,” he says.
The wind turbine has generated a lot of media buzz so far. A monitor in the lobby shows guests how much power is being generated at any one time. The turbine is part of a much larger effort at Mountain View Grand to help minimize the resort’s environmental impact. As part of the EPA’s Power Purchasing program, the resort is a 100 percent Green Power Purchaser. Mountain View Grand is the sole hotel or resort and one of only a handful of companies in New Hampshire to have secured a place on the list of those that buy green power to meet all their electricity use. In order to meet the criteria for the 100 percent Green Power Partnership program, Mountain View Grand is buying 100 percent NewMix Wind Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) from Constellation NewEnergy, Inc.
Push Toward ‘Greener’ Fuel
In addition to investing in renewable energy, the owners of Mountain View Grand recycle used cooking oil by donating it to a gentleman who converts it to biodiesel. There is currently an effort underway to convert the resort’s boilers to B99 biodiesel fuel. B99 fuel consists of 1 percent diesel and 99 percent biofuel. The fuel will replace the heating oil the resort has been using. Compact fluorescents, energy-efficient windows, low-flow showerheads and toilets, GreenFiber insulation, a comprehensive recycling program, and towel and linen reuse program further contribute to lessening Mountain View Grand’s impact. Spring water fed into the on-site water tower is used to irrigate the golf course during warmer months.
Mountain View Grand, the oldest resort hotel in the state of New Hampshire, has its own farm with horses, chickens, miniature donkeys, dwarf goats and a small flock of Leicester Longwool Sheep, a critically endangered breed. “We are restoring historic pastures on the property,” Ehlert says. “We are trying to bring it back as a functioning farm.”
The on-site greenhouse gives kids the chance to get their hands dirty planting maple tree seedlings and fast-growing veggies that can be taken home in a small pot. In-season produce is purchased for the resort’s restaurants from a local farmer.
Mountain View Grand’s efforts have resulted in it being named an Environmental Champion as part of the New Hampshire Sustainable lodging & Restaurant Program.
Go to the Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa.
Glenn Hasek can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
