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updated 7:17 p.m. ET Aug. 1, 2006

DENVER - Vail Resorts said Tuesday it will buy enough wind-generated electricity to replace all the power used by its five ski areas and more than 135 other stores, lodges and offices.

Vail said it would purchase nearly 152,000 megawatt-hours of wind-generated electricity a year, making it the second-largest corporate purchaser of wind power in the country. It did not immediately disclose the cost.

In January, Austin, Texas-based natural food grocer Whole Foods Market Inc. said it would buy 458,000 megawatts of wind-generated electricity annually to replace all of its power consumption.

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“By embracing wind power as a clean and renewable source for 100 percent of our companywide electricity use, we want to reinforce our commitment to the natural environment in which we operate and be a leader on this critical effort within the travel industry,” said Rob Katz, chief executive officer of Vail Resorts.

Vail is the second-largest ski operator in North America, after Intrawest Corp., based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Vail Resorts owns and operates Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone and Breckenridge ski areas in Colorado, Heavenly in Nevada and California, and Grand Teton Lodge Co. near Jackson, Wyo.

In addition to its ski resorts, Vail owns or operates about a dozen lodges and 125 retail stores. The company announced in April it is moving its headquarters from the Vail Valley to the northwest Denver suburb of Broomfield.