NEWRY – Following behind Shawnee Peak in Bridgton, and a national trend among ski resorts combating climate change, Maine’s two largest ski areas jumped for wind power this winter.

Sunday River in Newry and Sugarloaf/USA in Carrabassett Valley jointly bought 30 million kilowatt hours of renewable-energy certificates from Baltimore-based Constellation NewEnergy to offset 100 percent of their resort operations’ electricity usage from Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, 2007, Sugarloaf spokesman Bill Swain said Tuesday afternoon.

Neither ski area is installing giant windmills or wind turbines. Instead, they’re reducing their own environmental impact by buying electricity generated by wind-power plants in the Midwest, while supporting the continuing development of renewable energy sources nationwide.

Of the 30 million kilowatt hours, 19 million come from wind farms in Iowa, Sunday River spokesman Alex Kaufman said Tuesday afternoon.

Shawnee Peak in September became the state’s first ski area to convert to 100 percent wind power.

Concerns about global warming and energy solutions have been discussed at length at both resorts for many years, but wind power is the latest environmental program taken on by both within their comprehensive environmental initiatives.

Both resorts are also paying a slight premium increase over their regular rates, though neither Swain nor Kaufman would specify either cost.

“We decided to pay more to ensure that our energy comes from pollution-free fuel sources,” Kaufman said.

“It costs us slightly more in the short term, but we’re thinking of it as a long-term investment, because it’s reducing the amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. It’s a trend we’d like to see continue in the ski industry. Renewable energy is something our guests are interested in,” he added.

Climate-change worries and green energy solutions are also driving Sugarloaf’s support of the proposed Redington Wind Farm, located just west of the ski area in the Redington Pond Range of Carrabassett Valley and Redington Township in Franklin County.

“It uses natural resources to provide clean and renewable energy in an effective way. It is a site that’s already been examined as one suitable for wind-energy production. (Global warming) is a long-term thing, but so is the solution,” Swain said.

According to a news report released Tuesday by Swain and Kaufman, fulfilling the electricity needs of both resorts with zero-emission, non-fossil-fuel sources, will keep more than 41 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. That is based on a national average utility emissions rate.

Kaufman said the amount is the equivalent to avoiding the carbon dioxide emissions produced by 3,600 passenger cars each year, and the same amount of electricity needed to power more than 2,500 average American homes annually.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fossil-fuel-fired power plants are responsible for 67 percent of the nation’s sulfur dioxide emissions, 23 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions, and 40 percent of man-made carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, power plants are the main source of mercury emissions in America.

But, to put Sunday River and Sugarloaf’s electricity usage in ski-resort terms, neither Kaufman nor Swain knew just how much electricity either resort uses to make a coating of snow on each ski area’s longest ski trails.

Terrain-wise, Sunday River has slightly more than 48 miles of trails. Ninety percent of that is covered by snowmaking. Sugarloaf has 56 miles of trails, or 450 acres, of which, excluding glades, 94 percent is covered by snowmaking, Swain said.

Both resorts continue to invest in low-energy snow guns, which use 40 percent less energy to make snow.

Sunday River and Sugarloaf buy their renewable energy through Renewable Energy Certificates. Proceeds from the certificates subsidize the construction and operation of renewable energy generation facilities, which then replaces energy from traditional fossil fuel sources on the national electric grid.

Since the majority of airborne pollutants in the Northeast originate in the Midwest, where coal dominates the energy mix, both Swain and Kaufman believe that reducing emissions from the national electric grid will contribute to a cleaner environment in the Northeast.

“This is affordable to do, and, the time is right,” Swain added.