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Vail Ends Commitment To Wind Energy Credits

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Sep 29, 2009 8:09 pm US/Mountain

Vail Ends Commitment To Wind Energy Credits

Written by Environmental Specialist Paul Day

Reporting
Paul Day
DENVER (CBS4) ― Vail Resorts has ended its 3-year commitment to wind energy credits saying it wanted to help the planet in a more important way.

"Wind energy credits was a great way for us to showcase environmental leadership and take a stand on alternative energy. That was a key environmental issue back in 2006," explained Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts. "Today we really believe clean water and forest health is the signature item, especially in Colorado."

So Vail Resorts is spending its money on a new restoration project for the Hayman Burn Area instead. The decision was made after soliciting a lot of input.

"We actually spent the last 9 months talking to both public and private environmental groups about what was the most important issue we could address in the environment," Katz said.

Vail had been a leader in drumming up support for renewable energy. It was the first ski resort to buy wind credits on a large scale.

Do does the resort's new direction signal a change for corporate America?

"It's not like Vail is withdrawing their support from the environment," responded Quayle Hodek, President and CEO of Renewable Choice Energy.

Renewable is the wind credits broker who just lost Vail as a client.

But Hodek remains optimistic. In the 3 years since Vail's trailblazing support, Renewable Choice has seen tremendous growth. It now counts 1,500 clients who pay to support renewable energy.

Hodek is not worried about Vail backing out.

"I think that's everyone's individual decision of where they want to put their priorities and their dollars going forward," Hodek said.

Supplying wind power directly to Vail Resorts was never an option. In fact, it was an engineering impossibility. So by purchasing credits, Vail was able to offset the electricity it used by putting wind power somewhere else on the grid.

Today 40 percent of all new power plants built in America are wind powered, according to Hodek. Still, Vail's CEO is urging others to follow the ski resort's lead.

"We would love for other ski areas to follow our path and contribute to this forest restoration," Katz said.

There is a limit to corporate giving. Time will tell if support for renewable energy is diminished in anyway because of Vail's new priority.

(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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