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VPR's coverage of arts and culture in the region.

Woodstock Arena To Be The First Zero-Energy Ice Skating Rink In The Country

Wilson Ring
/
AP
The Union Arena in Woodstock plans to become the first ice skating rink in the nation to completely eliminate energy costs.

It takes a lot of electricity to keep an ice skating rink running. That's part of why the Woodstock Union Arena has created a four-tier plan to reduce energy costs, which account for about one-third of its business expenses.

Steps include upgrading the existing equipment for efficiency and buying solar panels to be erected offsite.

Ejay Bishop, general manager at the rink, says making the arena run on renewable energy isn't just an environmental cause.

“It's a way to keep the doors open but not constantly charge more money for people to come in and skate,” says Bishop. “It makes it affordable and keeps it affordable. The long-term goal there is if stays affordable people will continue to skate.”

The rink expects to reach zero-energy costs by within the next three years.

Rebecca Sananes was VPR's Upper Valley Reporter. Before joining the VPR Newsroom, she was the Graduate Fellow at WBUR and a researcher on a Frontline documentary.
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