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In the spring of 2023, when Tommy Murray returned to Taos Ski Valley, N.M., after a 40-hour round-trip drive to Idaho to pick up nine electric snowmobiles made by Canada’s Taiga Motors, he was skeptical. The machines appeared to be bulky and heavy, and he questioned their ability to make it up Taos’s steep terrain. But when he hopped on one to take it for a spin, his worries immediately dissolved.

“The moment I hit the throttle with my thumb, I had the biggest grin on my face,” Murray recounts. “There was so much power instantly. It was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had on a snowmobile.”

Murray was floored not only by the machine’s instant torque and ease of ascending steep sections of trail, but also by its silence. As he zipped around the resort, all he could hear was the sound of his tracks gliding across the snow. And all he could smell was the mountain air—not exhaust. It was a great start.  

JUST THE BEGINNING 

While it’s still in the first phase, the mountain resort industry seems to be mirroring the transition the electric car industry is experiencing, which has gone from appealing only to the most committed (and affluent) environmentalists willing to pay top dollar to minimize their emissions to simply another option for those looking for a new car. This transition is due in part to advancements in technology and an increasing supply by major automakers, fueled by tax incentives and governmental grants like those introduced in the current administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. 

Reducing emissions. Ski resorts worldwide are increasingly looking for ways to fulfill commitments to reduce emissions to protect and preserve the most important thing that keeps them in business: winter. And electrifying their on-mountain fleet is becoming one of the most effective ways to do so.

“My whole thing was just trying to lower my carbon [emissions] in the departments I run,” says Murray, director of mountain maintenance for Taos. “The guilt of knowing how much diesel I burn every winter—it was just absurd. So, I tried to think of how I can lower my [emissions], save money for the resort, and better the planet.” 

Taos is taking major steps toward reducing its emissions through the electrification of its on-mountain fleet, having replaced nine snowmobiles with the electric ones at the end of last season and acquiring a Prinoth fully electric Husky eMotion grooming machine for the 2023-24 season, making it one of the first North American resorts to get one. Taos also has a PistenBully hybrid 600E+ in its fleet, which produces 20 percent less CO2 emissions than a straight diesel-powered snowcat.

Europe ahead. Many European mountain resorts are one step ahead of their counterparts in North America. In Scandinavia, SkiStar, which owns and operates six resorts, including the three largest in Sweden and two largest in Norway, has already implemented eight electric snowmobiles and has an additional 50 on order from Taiga Motors and 50 more from Vidde Mobility. It’s entering its second season using an electric groomer and has been working with Volvo Construction Equipment to take advantage of some of the manufacturer’s newer electric heavy equipment for off-season projects. SkiStar has also incorporated a combination of fully electric and hybrid cars and is running diesel engines with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO-100).

In addition, Compagnie des Alpes (CDA), which operates many of France’s largest resorts, supported the R&D of a fully electric snowcat manufactured by CM Dupon. The machines reportedly operated for up to six hours on one charge in field tests last winter. CDA is expecting to add two of the machines to its fleet for this season, and six more for 2024-25.

 Left to right: PistenBully’s hybrid 600E+; Prinoth’s fully electric Husky eMotion. Taos Ski Valley will have one of each for the 2023-24 season.

SkiStar, which owns six resorts in Scandinavia, has implemented eight electric snowmobiles and has 100 more on order from Taiga Motors and Vidde Mobility.

SkiStar has been working with Volvo to utilize some of the company’s newer electric construction machines for off-season projects.

Left to right: Flo chargers installed at Taos Ski Valley cost roughly $1,500 per unit; Volvo construction equipment hard at work, but running quietly and emission free, at SkiStar.

A FIRST STEP  

For resorts looking to electrify their on-mountain fleet, replacing fossil fuel-burning snowmobiles can be a first step, especially as their availability has increased. Thanks to $50 million in federal, provincial, and municipal grants that Canada-based Taiga Motors received in 2021, it was able to construct a production facility in Shawinigan, Quebec, ramping up production to make its Nomad electric snowmobiles readily available. 

Implementation. Implementing the technology requires minimal changes in day-to-day resort operations—a single charge gets an estimated 60 miles of run time. And while operating in extreme cold temperatures has a positive effect on the longevity of the lithium-ion batteries utilized, it reduces the available daily usage time. 

To combat this, the machines use a thermal management system that heats up the battery pack and powertrain components when it’s cold and cools them  down via a heat exchanger when it’s hot. It also uses regenerative braking, which converts the kinetic energy created during braking into electrical power that is then used to further extend battery life. 

The snowmobiles, which start at $17,490 for the sport model, are slightly more expensive than a fossil fuel-powered machine, but the fuel savings are significant, and they’re anticipated to last twice as long as a traditional machine. Murray calculates a savings of around 1,500 gallons of fuel in one season with the first nine machines. And all of this comes without sacrificing power or towing capacity.

Maintenance and charging. In addition to having no emissions, the machines require less maintenance (many of the more complicated adjustments, like the regenerative braking power, can be adjusted remotely by Taiga through a WiFi connection) and are quiet. The biggest consideration when it comes to implementing electric machines is the charging infrastructure, which most ski areas are equipped to take on.

“Ski resorts already consume crazy amounts of electricity,” says Geoff Barber, Taiga business development specialist. “So, if you put in a level two charger that’s going to be pulling about 6.6 kilowatts at its peak, it’s really a drop in the hole compared to, let’s say, running a high-speed quad chairlift. So most [resorts] are well set up from an infrastructure point of view.”

Murray’s team at Taos, which has a number of technicians with electrical experience, installed chargers made by Flo at a cost of approximately $1,500 per unit.  

CHARGING CONSIDERATIONS 

Of course, deciding how to go about installing charging stations is dependent upon long-term goals and the requirements of the specific equipment to be utilized. 

Working with your utility. “The first step is talking to your utility,” says Will DeRuve, vice president of North American sales for Livingston Energy, which offers charging station installs and management, hardware procurement, software development, and help with securing tax incentives. “You need to let the utility know, say, your five-year plan. Working with utility is paramount to the success of any charging infrastructure. They need to know what’s going on, because if you don’t have enough power, you’re dead in the water.”

If a resort can utilize unused energy during non-peak hours, the requirements of the equipment itself may be the only immediate consideration.

Charging options. Generally, there are three options to consider when it comes to charging infrastructure: level one, level two, and DC fast charging. Most ski area applications will require either a level-two charger, which uses 240 volts and charges using a lower amperage over a longer period, or a DC fast charger, which charges quicker but uses a significantly higher draw. For electric snowmobiles used only during the day, for instance, it may make more sense to have multiple units charging overnight on level-two chargers, whereas a groomer, which may need to be charged mid-shift, may benefit from a DC fast charger.

There are grants and tax incentives available for electrification projects, but they can be difficult to navigate and vary by state and project. 

ELECTRIC GROOMING MACHINES  

Electric groomers have arrived, though groomer technology is slightly behind that of the electric snowmobile. Italy-based Prinoth is currently the only manufacturer that has a fully electric groomer commercially available, although PistenBully isn’t far behind with its 100E model, which has been used in a testing capacity for the last few years.

Last year, Prinoth manufactured 10 groomers to be put into use at a number of resorts in Europe and will be shipping three to North America ahead of the 2023-24 ski season.

Usage limits. Like Taiga’s snowmobiles, the immediate torque, quiet operation, and lack of emissions are major selling points for electric snowcats. But with only three hours of operation time, usage is limited to shorter, less demanding tasks like base areas and low-angle trails around them or for peaceful dinner “sleigh” rides, like Taos has plans to do. 

According to Prinoth’s head of product portfolio management, Andreas Muigg, an adaptation in grooming operations can help navigate this hurdle. The groomers have the ability to be charged with both AC and DC systems, depending on the time that’s available for charging. Utilizing a DC fast charge system at full capacity, the battery can be recharged from zero to 100 percent in a matter of two hours.

Additional information about the CM Dupon machines—with a reported six-hour operation time—was not available at press time.

Maintenance. While there are free training courses available for technicians at resorts that purchase one of Prinoth’s eMotion groomers, another benefit is that much of the maintenance is similar to that of a diesel-powered groomer—aside from the engine and tank system, the hydrostatic drive for the tiller and tracks along with the entire powertrain is the same. 

INTERIM STEPS 

For those waiting for electric technology to advance before diving in, there are interim steps that can be taken to help reduce carbon emissions with minimal upfront investments. The most important thing is to start taking those steps.

“There is a lot of low-hanging fruit that can be picked easily,” says Per Granås, SkiStar’s purchase manager, who has been working on the company’s sustainability efforts. “It’s important to look at the total picture and see where you can get support. Even if you only change one car to an electrical car, at least you start your journey.”

Starting with HVO. SkiStar’s journey began in 2016 with the utilization of HVO-100 fossil-free diesel—which denotes that it’s 100 percent renewable—in all diesel-burning vehicles. This, along with the other changes it’s made with converting to electric and hybrid vehicles, led to a reduction from 7,000 to 900 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. (Several resorts worldwide have already implemented HVO, including Big Sky, Mont., and Compagnie des Alpes.)

Hydrogen. SkiStar has also begun looking into the viability of utilizing hydrogen to store clean energy, such as wind and solar, for later use, and has successfully been working with Volvo to see if using its electric equipment for projects like off-season construction and snow removal is feasible. So far, it’s rented the machines, since most of them can’t be used year-round, but both Granås and his Volvo counterparts are excited about how the collaboration has gone so far and are optimistic about the future. 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS  

While vehicle electrification is extremely promising regarding the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and particulate matter, the technology is still relatively new and comes with its own environmental drawbacks and challenges.

Impacts of mining. Producing the electricity to charge cars does require the burning of fossil fuels, but making the batteries requires the mining of rare minerals like lithium and cobalt. Mining operations for these minerals have been linked to human rights issues in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and Indonesia. And the process to extract lithium requires extreme amounts of water.

Still, studies have shown the environmental impact of electric vehicles to be significantly less than that of fossil fuel-burning vehicles, especially in areas where clean energy accounts for some percentage of the local grid. And even when accounting for the greenhouse gases released during production, which are said to be higher than those of a standard vehicle’s production, electric vehicles release less greenhouse gases and particulate matter than fossil fuel-burning vehicles during their lifetime.

“The current mining methods and places that are being mined are not necessarily as environmentally sound as we would all like to see,” says Dr. Ray Gallant, vice president of sustainability for Volvo North America. “But there are a lot of strides forward being made in battery technology that’s going to give you higher density, a better work environment, and better performance out of the batteries. And I think part of the solution there is the recyclability, reuse, remanufacturing, and repurposing of the batteries through their lifecycle.”

Gallant notes there’s potential for using spent batteries for electrical energy storage systems for applications like hospitals, which don’t need as high of performance, and even replacing the cathode and anode in the batteries to create new ones. 

Exploring other technologies. But Volvo isn’t hedging everything on one bet when it comes to powering vehicles without fossil fuels. The company is also exploring and has plans to utilize other technologies, like using hydrogen cells for energy storage or burning hydrogen in internal combustion engines. 

THE FUTURE IS NOW 

Regardless, one thing is for certain: the future of sustainable energy is here, and it only makes sense for the mountain resort industry to lead the charge in taking advantage of it.

“I’m just trying to advocate for every resort to make this switch,” says Murray. “Why aren’t we all lessening our carbon [output] and implementing these types of vehicles? Even if it costs a little bit more, what are you saving in the long run? Our winters, that’s what you’re going to save.”