Jiminy cricket!

No Jiminy Creek! Stop the presses this ski resort has become a little greener, how you might ask--a windmill! When people go skiing at Jiminy Peak in the Berkshires, there's more than just trees on the horizon. At 378-feet tall, the wind turbine stands taller than the Statue of Liberty and is the only one of its kind on a ski resort in North America. During the winter months, when the wind is strongest, it is estimated that the wind turbine has the capability to generate about half the electricity needed to run Jiminy Peak.

Who'd have thought green snow--much better than its counterpart, yellow snow, that is....Fast Facts:
How much on average does it generate? 1524 kilowatts
How much did it cost? $4 million with an estimated payback period of 6 years according to Jiminy Peak president
Why? To make a difference if you look at the long term, you can invest in alternative energy that will be good for future generations
Here are some of the basic statistics:

It is a 1.5MW wind turbine capable of producing up to 2,000 H.P. for the snowmaking plant

A 1.5MW wind turbine will provide approximately 33% of the electrical demands of Jiminy Peak annually. During the winter months when the wind resource is the strongest it may provide as much as half of our electrical demand.

The turbine will generate approximately 4,600,000 kWh and Jiminy Peak consumes approximately 7,500,000 kWh a year.

The wind turbine will sit atop a 253 ft tower.

The nacelle that sits on top of the structure and houses the shaft for the blades, the gearbox and the generator is approximately 13 ft wide and 13 ft tall and 26 ft long.

Each of the 3 blades is approximately 123ft, therefore to the tip of the blade the entire structure is 386 feet tall.

The blades will turn a maximum of 22 RPM even in high wind conditions.