Donation funds Green Energy on Isle Royale

[johnhens]

From the NPS:
Houghton, MI - Isle Royale National Park is pleased to announce the donation of $1.8 million from the Board of National Parks Concession Inc. (NPCI) for the installation of a photo voltaic system at Rock Harbor. Isle Royale is a remote island in Lake Superior, noted for its wild beauty, pristine waters, fisheries, rich history, and hiking trails. But behind the scenes there is a large supply chain of gasoline and diesel that fuels boats and generators used to create electricity and pump water for visitors and employees at the island. All of the fossil fuels create a large carbon foot print and potential environmental hazard from hauling fuels.
Rock Harbor is the major portal on the northeast end of Isle Royale and houses 60 lodge rooms, 20 housekeeping cottages, and slips for up to 12 boats. In conjunction with this donation, the Park is using an innovative Department of Energy Program to combine donations and payments over time to finance alternative energy programs at the Park. This $1.8 million donation is the second donation from NPCI, bringing their total contribution for energy saving projects to $2.246 million. The total conversion costs for three developed sites at Isle Royale (Rock Harbor, Windigo, and Mott Island) are estimated at over $7 million. In conjunction, the Park is spending over a million dollars for energy saving measures, bringing the project half-way to completion.
National Parks Concession Inc. Board oversees a trust that was formed when NPCI, a non-profit concessionaire operating from the 1930’s until 2002, ceased operations and sold their assets to Forever Resorts, LLC – headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The NPCI board manages a trust with assets left from the sale. Their charter allows these funds to be used at any of the following National Parks: Isle Royale, Big Bend, Olympic, Mammoth Cave, and Blue Ridge Parkway. NPCI’s contributions have improved visitor services and employee housing at all of these parks.
The National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, headquartered in Marquette, Michigan, is working with Isle Royale National Park to find matching funds and material donations to complete the project at the remaining two sites, Windigo and Mott Island.
________
Liz Valencia
Chief, Interpretation and Cultural Resources
Isle Royale National Park

[hooky]

This showed up in my facebook feed this morning. Same announcement with a little bit more detail and commentary.

http://www.mininggazette.com/page/conte ... l?nav=5006

[Ingo]

They were also installing solar hot water heaters in the housekeeping cabins when we were there. I talked a little with the supervising contractor and he said they got the water up to 140 deg in a couple hrs (in direct sun).

Some time ago I saw just a sentence that said that NPCI also contributed to building the camper cabins in Windigo. It made me curious, since they were a former employer of mine, but a quick search didn't reveal any details. So it's good to know a little more about what happened and that the sale has had positive benefits to the park!