MT. BACHELOR’S WOOD FUEL ENERGY FACILITY NEARS COMPLETION
Mt. Bachelor’s new Wood Fuel Energy Facility is nearing the finish line, marking an exciting step forward in the resort’s ongoing sustainability efforts.
Located in the West Village base area, the high-efficiency biomass system will transform locally sourced wood byproducts from U.S. Forest Service–approved forest restoration and wildfire mitigation projects in the Deschutes National Forest into renewable heat for several of the resort’s base-area buildings and snowmelt systems.
Typically, this material would be burned in open slash piles, but the facility will put it to productive use, connecting forest restoration efforts with renewable energy and helping reduce Mt. Bachelor’s reliance on propane.
How It Works
At the heart of the facility is a 4,094 MBH (1,200 kW) high-efficiency biomass boiler. The system will eventually distribute heat through insulated underground piping to Ski Patrol, West Village Lodge, Mountain Gateway, Todd Lake, the Bachelor Butte Administration Building, and the West Village base area snowmelt system.
Once operational, the facility is expected to reduce Mt. Bachelor’s propane use by approximately 150,000 gallons annually (more than 90%) and cut nearly 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. By replacing trucked-in fossil fuels with a locally sourced renewable resource, the project will help reduce the resort’s environmental footprint while supporting forest restoration efforts.
Project Update as of October 13, 2026
Construction of the Wood Fuel Energy Facility is complete, and the project is moving through its final connection and commissioning phases ahead of its anticipated operational date in December 2026.
The biomass plant is now connected to Ski Patrol, the Bachelor Butte Administration Building, Mountain Gateway, and West Village Lodge. The final connection to the Todd Lake Building is scheduled in the next couple weeks.
Remote commissioning is also complete, including controller connectivity, input and output verification, and remote testing of the plant’s subsystems.
On-site commissioning begins today and includes the final building connection to Todd Lake, fuel-handling commissioning, emissions-control equipment integration, connection of the fuel-feed water service, safety-system testing, and transition of the plant network to its permanent configuration.
Partners & Support
The Wood Fuel Energy Facility demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can lead to practical solutions that benefit both businesses and the environment.
The project has been made possible through collaboration among a wide range of local, state, regional, and federal entities, including contractors, consultants, public agencies, and community leaders. A special thanks goes out to the following partners, who were instrumental in bringing this project to life:
- The U.S. Forest Service
- The Oregon Department of Energy
- Deschutes County
- Wisewood Energy
- Kirby Naeglehout Construction
- Republic Services
- Mt. Bachelor’s Base Operations teams
- POWDR
As Mt. Bachelor continues working towards a more sustainable future, the Wood Fuel Energy Facility represents another meaningful investment in the mountain, the forests that surround it, and the Central Oregon community.
