Aspen Skiing Co. goes big in its effort to offset carbon

Aspen Skiing Co. has taken the big step it needs to offset the power it consumes and gain greater credibility in the battle against climate change.

Skico is investing nearly $5.4 million to pay 90 percent of the construction cost of a plant that will capture methane vented from a coal mine at Somerset, about 10 miles northeast of Paonia, and convert it into electricity.

The methane must be vented from the coal mine for worker safety. It's currently released into the atmosphere. Now it will be put to good use. The methane will be burned to power a large internal-combustion engine to drive pistons that turn a generator and produce power. The plant will produce 3 megawatts of power. It should be generating 1 megawatt of power by this fall, said Matt Jones, Skico vice president and chief financial officer, and the remaining 2 megawatts should be produced by the end of the year.

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