First microhydro under the new rules
SILVERTON – Now that was easy! A small hydro project near Silverton breezed through the federal permitting process – something not so easily done just a few months ago.
The small turbine simply harnesses the power of the water flowing from an existing pipeline at the old Mayflower Mill, which is now a museum maintained by the San Juan Historical Society.
Altogether, it can generate 11 kilowatts, which isn’t much. But even so, navigating the former rules of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission would have cost more than the hydroelectric equipment itself. Before new rules, few such projects got completed.
“Requiring a federal hydropower license for a tiny, noncontroversial hydro project on an existing pipeline was completely nuts,” says Beverly Rich, chairwoman of the Historical Society.
Legislation passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama amended the process in two ways. One law allows an exemption for small projects of less than 5 megawatts. Sandpoint, Idaho, was the first in the United States to apply for a project with that exemption with a 65-kilowatts project.
Silverton’s is the first in Colorado. It will generate roughly the amount of electricity used by 10 U.S. homes.
But some of the greatest potential may exist in agriculture infrastructure. On Idaho’s Snake River, a company near Jerome plans a 4,800-kwh project. But the concept is the same: the project uses existing disruptions of flows in creeks and rivers and causes no new impacts.
River advocates are OK with the new process. “We are pleased that FERC granted an exemption of the Silverton project,” says Matt Rice, the Colorado conservation director for American Rivers. “It is a great example of hydropower done right without creating new environmental impacts.”
However, the same group staunchly opposed Aspen’s plans to divert water from two local creeks for hydroelectric production.
Much squabbling on billionaires’ row
ASPEN – Out on billionaires’ row, real estate is still about location, location, location. But the stakes are higher.
The Aspen Daily News tells about a squabble that has been going on for several years outside the town, in the Maroon Creek Valley. Tom and Margot Pritzker, of Hyatt Hotel fame, have a home there, as do several others. David Boehm wants to join the neighborhood through his company, Celestial Land Co.
Four years ago, he applied to build a 15,000-square-foot house there in an avalanche path. He was granted the right to build an 8,250-square-foot home somewhere on the property. But Pitkin County commissioners rejected a 13,250-square-foot house that was pending. That tentative approval had included provisions that he mitigate the avalanche risk by excavating a long trough 20 feet deep on the uphill side of the house and erect a protective wall. This was described by one attorney as comparable to a half-pipe at Buttermilk, the ski area where the X Games are held.
The issue here? Stan Clauson, a local planning consultant who represents Boehm, said opposition was rooted in the fact that his client’s home would have interfered with the view of the Maroon Creek Valley by the Pritzkers. “I would submit that the only thing wrong with the house is that it intrudes on the privatization of the view from the Pritzkers’ house,” he said.
On the other side of that snit, Boehm in 2010 had tattled regarding the Pritzkers’ decision to plant a row of trees on their property, alleging the county had never approved the trees and they would obstruct views of a pristine meadow.
It’s a familiar story again in Telluride
TELLURIDE – Despite adding a ton of affordable housing in recent years, beds are scarce this season for seasonal workers in Telluride.
“The reason for the shortage? I simply don’t know,” Shirley Diaz, executive director of the San Miguel County Regional Housing Authority, said. She told The Telluride Watch that she at first suspected that the ski area operator had ramped up its employment, but that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Intrawest rumors swirl around C.B.
MT. CRESTED BUTTE – Is Intrawest soon to take the reins of operation at Crested Butte Mountain Resort?
That has been the rumor since last spring, and this week the current managers – the Mueller family – told ski area employees that they have been talking with someone. They named no names, however.
Tim and Diane Mueller bought the ski area in 2004 and were welcomed with open arms by the local community. It was hoped they could provide new energy and investment that had been lacking under the previous ownership.
But Crested Butte, because of its remoteness – four and a half hours from Denver – and with a relatively small ski area is a rough sell compared to the megaresorts of I-70.
The official owner is now CNL Lifestyle Properties, a real-estate investment trust that has more than a dozen ski resorts in its portfolio. In effect, CNL is the financier. The Muellers are the managers. Through their Triple Peaks LLC, the family also owns a sizable chunk of real estate in areas adjacent to the ski area. Before the recession, some lots were going for $700,000 to $800,000.
The Muellers tell the Crested Butte News that they were approached about the land earlier this year, and the talks have grown to include the ski area. Letters of intent and nondisclosure agreements were signed this fall. The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of the year.
But if Intrawest gets the keys to the ski area, would it make sense? Founded as a real-estate company in Vancouver, B.C., the company in 1986 expanded to operate Whistler and many other ski areas. Then, it was sold in a heavily leveraged deal to Fortress, a hedge-fund manager, just before the Great Recession. The deal had assumed continued rapid sales of high-priced real estate. When that market vanished, Intrawest was forced to spin off assets: Copper Mountain in Colorado, Panorama in British Columbia, and a number of other assets.
Today, Intrawest retains ownership of Stratton and Mont Tremblant, two ski areas in the East; Canadian Mountain Holidays in Alberta; and Steamboat. It also manages Winter Park for Denver, the owner.
What would Crested Butte add to the mix? Synergy, possibly. Vail’s Epic Pass is a formidable marketing proposition. Other ski areas have been forced to lower their season prices and band together to deliver competing passes. One that aligned Steamboat, Winter Park and Crested Butte might be more appealing.
Intrawest recently announced plans to go public again. Combing the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Steamboat Pilot reported that they contained “plain signals that the company… would like to be in acquisition mode.”
Whistler ski upgrades cultural products
WHISTLER, B.C. – Imagine paying 8.75 percent interest on a loan. That’s what operators of the Whistler Blackcomb ski area were paying on portions of the company’s $261 million debt. With refinancing, interest is now down to 3.7 percent for the first six months. That leaves the company more money to upgrade both skiing and nonskiing assets, officials tell Pique Newsmagazine.
Meanwhile, Whistler continues the conversation about cultural draws, including a $30 million art museum. Altogether, $98 million has been spent in the last 15 years on libraries and other institutions, with total space now at 116,000 square feet.
Pique editor Clare Ogilvie also points out that one of these cultural centers, the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre, has been recovering 71 percent of expenses, compared to 51 percent for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
Canada now has more people aged 55 to 64 than those aged 15 to 24. “For a ski town, those are sobering figures,” she writes.
Shutdown hurt national park visitation
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Mont. – When the U.S. government shut down in October, national parks did, too. The result at Yellowstone National Park was that visitation dropped 73 percent, despite financing by state governments to reopen the park in mid-October
“The shutdown greatly impacted all of the gateway communities surrounding the park, and West Yellowstone was no exception,” reports the West Yellowstone News. “Even though the shutdown lasted only 16 days, many employees of businesses that closed their doors early in town will be feeling the impact for the entire winter season.”
Park City became a ski town 50 years ago
PARK CITY, Utah – This year, Park City Mountain Resort turns 50, and while skiing from this vantage point looks inevitable, it wasn’t necessarily so.
Sure, Utah had Alta and other ski areas on the other side of the Wasatch. But Park City was a mining town. “Plenty of Parkites were betting the mining industry would make a comeback,” says The Park Record.
The newspaper, however, thinks that skiing is the better idea. It goes on to credit the ski area with hosting World Cup races, setting up Utah for the Winter Olympics in 2002. It also notes that Park City was “among the first ski resorts in the country to acknowledge the potential impact of climate change and to champion a proactive approach to ‘save our snow.’”
– Allen Best
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