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Aspen Skiing Company goes 100 percent green

Release Date: 03/01/2006
Contact Information: James Critchfield, EPA Green Power Partnership, (202) 343-9442; Richard Mylott, EPA Region 8, (303) 312-6654; Jeff Hanle, Aspen Skiing Company, (970) 300-7022

Wind power purchase under EPA's Green Power Partnership is largest ever in U.S. ski industry

{Denver, Colo. - Mar. 1, 2006} Aspen Skiing Company, operator of four Colorado ski mountains and two hotels, has made a landmark purchase of renewable energy certificates from wind farms to offset 100 percent of its electricity use. The purchase, the largest in the history of the U.S. ski industry, places the company's facilities among the top performers in the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership.

“EPA applauds Aspen Skiing Company for this important purchase of renewable energy certificates and its leadership in reducing its greenhouse gas emissions,” said Matt Clouse, program director of EPA’s Green Power Partnership. “We hope these efforts will have a snowball effect on building support for renewable energy sources like wind power.”

“This purchase represents our guiding principles in action,” said Aspen Skiing Company President/CEO Pat O’Donnell. “Clearly, the most pressing issue of our time is climate change, and addressing energy use is one of the most important actions we can take on that front.”

Aspen Skiing Company's purchase of 21,000 megawatt hours (MWh) will keep nearly 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, out of the atmosphere each year. The environmental benefit of this action is the equivalent of removing an estimated 2,500 cars from the road annually. The company is buying its wind energy certificates from Community Energy Inc., a marketer and developer of wind energy generation headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania. CEI has wind projects under development in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. For more visit: www.communityenergy.biz

Aspen Skiing Company joins other leading businesses like Whole Foods, Fedex Kinkos, Starbucks, Nike and Patagonia in making a significant commitment to renewable energy. Most of these businesses are members of EPA's Green Power Partnership, a voluntary program seeking to increase the use of green power among U.S. organizations.

EPA's Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that seeks to increase the use of clean, renewable energy sources among leading U.S. organizations. Partners in the program purchase green power in an amount that must meet or exceed the EPA benchmarks and in return receive EPA technical assistance and recognition. EPA’s Green Power Partnership currently has more than 600 Partners, including Fortune 500 companies, states, federal agencies, trade associations and universities. For more information on the Green Power Partnership, visit: www.epa.gov/greenpower

Aspen Skiing Company operates the four mountains in the Aspen/Snowmass area - Snowmass, Aspen Mountain, Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk - as well as the Ski & Snowboard Schools of Aspen/Snowmass. For more information, visit the company's website at www.aspensnowmass.com/environment