Thredbo ski area in Australia has partnered with energy firms Red Energy and Snowy Hydro to ensure all their major resort operations are now supplied by renewable sources of power.

The initiative, which came in to effect on 1st July, is the latest in a long list of environmental initiatives by the ski area and a first for an Australian ski area.

In collaboration with Red Energy, Thredbo has purchased 9 gigawatt hours of renewable energy per year, the equivalent to the electricity consumed by 1,500 average homes.

“This agreement goes a long way to preserving the backyard we love, for future generations,” a resort statement claims.

Other initiatives from Thredbo have included a now ten year old partnership with Greenfleet to offset the operation emissions of the entire fleet of snow groomers and company vehicles.

Thredbo has also removed single use plastic bags from all Thredbo outlets as well as moving to biodegradable and commercially compostable packaging, cutlery and paper straws.

The resort stages an annual Environmental week and throughout the season guests can also contribute by purchasing a $4.00 tree when they buy their lift pass. A tree is then planted regionally and will offset the emissions of their travel to the snow.