Join us at the Northeast Summit: https://nesummit.com/ at Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, ME September 8-9, 2025
Snowmaking-Paired Batteries: A Lifeline of Resilience and Revenue for Indie Ski Areas
Independent ski areas face a crisis on two fronts: energy costs are rising, and warming winters are clipping ski days. Meanwhile, most indie resorts lack access to the capital, credit or technical tools used by big-monied conglomerates.
This session presents a possible lifeline. It explores how behind-the-meter battery energy storage can expand snowmaking and turn it into a strategic asset—flattening peak demand, unlocking new revenue through grid services, and reducing or eliminating the need for diesel and gas backup generators.
Among a range of topics and questions answered, participants will learn:
- The impact of batteries on demand charges, resiliency, and emissions
- How we can fund battery storage with no CapEx or credit
- The energy value of their real estate, and how to realize it
The talk includes real project insights from CutPeak Energy’s NYSERDA-proposed grid edge technology study at Catamount Mountain Resort, a pilot at Berkshire East Mountain Resort, and invites interested ski areas to participate in this year’s 10-slope cohort for a no-cost/no-obligation feasibility study.
Brett David Miller
Principal, CutPeak Energy
Brett is the founder of CutPeak Energy, a developer of battery-backed snowmaking and microgrid systems for rural, family-owned and independent ski areas. His work centers helping ski areas realize their property’s energy value, unlock summer grid revenue, reduce energy costs, extend ski days, and replace diesel backup in place of second life and innovative US sourced energy storage products—with no upfront cost or credit.
With a background protecting people and infrastructure projects in post-conflict regions (including East Timor and Myanmar), Brett brings a track record of building scalable systems in complex environments. He previously spearheaded business development for battery storage at Generac Industrial Power before helping to commercialize the nation’s most advanced techno-economic modeling software for advanced microgrids.
He lives in Beacon, NY at the foot of the former Dutchess Ski Area, is an avid skier, a rookie race coach at West Point’s Victor Constant Ski Area where he teaches 10-year-olds—and has a mission to save indie mountains and the communities they anchor. He’s just trying to live up to his middle name.
Join us at the Northeast Summit to explore how battery-paired snowmaking is helping indie ski areas survive and thrive: https://nesummit.com
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