Winds of change blew into Colorado's ski community Tuesday as industry giant Vail Resorts, Inc., announced plans to offset 100 percent of its energy use with wind power, starting immediately.

The company said it would purchase 152,000 megawatt-hours of wind energy each year to power its five mountain resorts, numerous lodging properties and retail outlets, as well as its new corporate headquarters in Broomfield outside Denver.

That makes Vail Resorts 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.

"It's the right thing to do," said Vail Resorts Chief Executive Rob Katz. "We view sustainability as critical to our company's continued success."

Vail Resorts will not install wind turbines atop its slopes or use direct wind energy to power its chair lifts. Instead, it will purchase from Boulder-based Renewable Choice Energy renewable-energy credits equal to the amount of electricity it uses.

"Green" power purchases by American companies have increased by 1,000 percent over the past five years, according to Renewable Choice chief executive Quayle Hodek.

"With people everywhere concerned about today's energy and environmental challenges, it sure is a positive sign to see a leader like Vail Resorts choosing cleaner, renewable energy options," he said.

Roughly 25 million megawatt-hours of wind energy will be produced in the U.S. this year, enough to serve more than 2.3 million households, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

"The wind resource in the U.S. is vast and only just beginning to be tapped," said Christine Real de Azua, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C., trade group. "There is no question that corporate demand is growing."

The move was applauded by Gov. Bill Owens and by Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo.,whose district contains Vail Resorts' four local ski resorts -- Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge and Keystone.

"Vail Resorts is on the front-line of the battle for accountable energy," said Owens. Katz declined to say how much it will cost Vail Resorts to finance the program.

"This is more about choice than it is about cost," he said. "We think it's good business in terms of diversifying the number of fuel sources that we have and reducing our company's dependence on fossil fuels."

Vail Resorts follows the lead set by privately-held Aspen Skiing Co., which announced a similar program in March.

"It's good to see the ski industry reacting proactively to the problem of global warming," said Roger Singer of the Sierra Club in Colorado.

Vail Resorts is also encouraging its guests to join in its renewable energy efforts. The company's new "Ski With the Wind" program offers a free one-day lift ticket to anyone who purchases one year of residential wind power through Renewable Energy Choice.

"This is a great way to actually get closer to our guests and connect around something they care about," said Katz. "At the end, that is really our core mission, and the way we're going to do well by our shareholders.

Vail Resorts' stock closed at $34.51 Tuesday, down six cents.