Park City Mountain Resort’s parent company took a big step in its goal to reach 100% renewable electricity usage by 2030.
Vail Resorts announced Wednesday morning that the Plum Creek Wind Project, based in Nebraska has gone online. Vail has agreed to purchase 310,000 megawatt hours of wind energy annually from the project, which will address more than 90% of the company's current electric usage in its North American resorts.
Locally, Vail Resorts has also been a supporter of Summit County and Park City Municipal’s joint efforts with Rocky Mountain Power to create a renewable energy project in the state. Rocky Mountain Power is planning to build the 308,000 MWh project to provide green energy to Utah.
Kate Wilson is the senior director of sustainability at Vail Resorts. She says setting bold operational sustainability goals, and finding innovative ways to reach them, such as Virtual Power Purchasing Agreements, are an important way for large companies to have a measurable impact on climate change.
The projects are part of Vail’s pledge to reach a zero net operating footprint by 2030. This commitment includes zero net emissions, which includes 100 percent renewable electricity, zero waste to landfill, and zero net operating impact to forests and habitat.