Ice hotels, in theory, are already a very green concept. They're built from renewable materials, are naturally insulated and are recycled each Spring when they thaw - leaving no trace of where they once stood. You can't ask for much better than that when it comes to eco-friendly accommodation. In reality they do, of course, have some environmental impact, but in Sweden, plans have been announced to remove the environmental footprint of Lapland's famous ICEHOTEL completely, by making it carbon negative by 2015.
The ICEHOTEL is built each year in Jukkasjärvi, a small village 200km inside the Arctic Circle, using ice from the frozen Torne River. Every year the hotel is built with a different design, and for the first time this year, the hotel will also be buying its electricity from renewable sources.
As part of a three year deal with Swedish energy company, Gävle Energi, the ICEHOTEL is helping to fund Gävle Energi's Swedish windfarms, bio-fuel and hydro projects. The arrangement is just the start of the planned green initiatives, however, and the hotel operators are also aiming to cut electricity consumption by 15% over the winter season, which runs from December to April. Considering the hotel temperature usually hovers around the –5° C (23 F) mark, in order to keep the building frozen, they do at least have a head start when it comes to cutting heating costs.
Further plans to cut energy consumption are due to be announced this winter, and all the initiatives are being put in place with the aspiration to eventually make ICEHOTEL carbon dioxide negative – and actually produce more energy than they consume. We look forward to hearing more details in the near future.
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