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Vail Makes Huge Wind Purchase, Launches Promotion
August 21, 2006
Vail Resorts, Inc. announced the largest purchase of
wind energy in Colorado history on August 1. The purchase is for
nearly 152 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy credits,
which is the equivalent of the electricity consumption for the
entire company for one year. This includes the corporate
headquarters in Broomfield, five ski resorts in Colorado and
California, 10 RockResorts hotels, three lodges and a golf course
near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and 125 retail outlets of
Specialty Sports Venture.
Vail CEO Rob Katz made the announcement at a press
conference in Denver flanked by U.S. Congressional Representative
Mark Udall and Governor Bill Owens. Udall’s remarks focused on
reducing U.S. dependence on petroleum. Owens said, “Slowly but
surely, we’re ushering in a new way of thinking.” For details, see
the Vail press release at:
http://rockresorts.com/info/pr.37.asp
The purchase places Vail in second place among U.S.
corporate purchases of green power and in the number six spot
overall, just behind the U.S. Department of Energy and ahead of
Starbucks. Among corporations, only Whole Foods Market buys more
green power. Vail is purchasing the renewable energy credits from
Renewable Choice Energy, a green power provider located in Boulder;
see:
http://www.renewablechoice.com/m/index.php
Vail is also sponsoring a promotion called “Ski With
the Wind” that includes a free lift ticket to anyone who purchases
one year of electricity from Renewable Choice Energy. Vail
executives have all purchased wind power for their homes. More
details about the promotion, see:
http://www.snow.com/
Two weeks later, the owners of Crested Butte Mountain
Resort in southwest Colorado announced that they will purchase
enough green power to cover all of its consumption. Tim and Diane
Mueller, who own three ski resorts in Colorado, Vermont, and New
Hampshire, agreed on August 17 to buy 27 million kWh of renewable
energy credits per year from the Gunnison County Electric
Association.
Gunnison Electric works with Sterling Planet in
Norcross, Georgia, to supply the renewable energy credits generated
from wind energy. Sterling Planet is the first company in the United
States to offer both green tags for renewable energy and white tags
for energy efficiency to customers nationwide. Sterling Planet’s
deal with the Muellers evidently involved the governor of Vermont
and the Colorado Governor’s Office of Energy Conservation, since
both offices issued statements about the project. For details, see
the Muellers’ press release at:
http://www.okemo.com/okemosummer/ |
