Crested Butte Mountain Resort is jumping on the wind energy bandwagon.
Triple Peaks, owned by Tim and Diane Mueller, announced plans today to buy enough wind energy to offset its electricity use at its three ski resorts – Crested Butte in Colorado, Okemo in Vermont and Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire.
The company will buy 27 million kilowatt hours of wind energy certificates from national renewable energy provider Sterling Planet, through an agreement brokered by Gunnison County Electric Association.
“Environmental stewardship is a core value of our company, as it is for many of our guests,” said Tim Mueller in a statement. “Offsetting 100 percent of our resorts’ energy use reinforces our commitment to the environment, as well as to the local communities in which we operate.”
Aspen Skiing Co. led the charge toward wind energy in March, announcing it would use renewable-energy certificates purchased from wind farms to offset 100 percent of its electricity.
Vail Resorts, Inc. followed earlier this month, saying they would purchase 152,000 megawatt hours of wind energy annually to power its five mountain resorts, numerous lodging properties, retail outlets and its new corporate headquarters in Broomfield.
Vail Resorts is now the second-largest corporate purchaser of wind power in the nation, behind Whole Foods Market, and the largest purchaser of wind power in the state.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-820-1592 or at jdunn@denverpost.com.
