Ski All Year Round on the World’s Largest Clean Energy Powerplant

Surrounded by sweeping views of Copenhagen, you feel the rush of the wind as you carve down the silicone–covered hill to the base where, instead of a ski chalet, you find yourself at the largest clean–waste–to–energy powerplant in the world. 

CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, opened in October 2019 and is located on the city's industrial waterfront. The facility converts 440,000 tons of waste into clean energy annually making it the  “the cleanest waste–to–energy plant in the world.” And it’s not just for skiers: With the option to run, hike, climb or ski, CopenHill is an 85–metre high recreational area that offers urban residents access to mountain sports for every fitness level, all year round.

The structure was designed by renowned Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) who are responsible for other notable landmarks in the city including the highly acclaimed restaurant noma, VM Houses/The Mountain – a residential space in Copenhagen’s southern neighbourhood of Ørestaden – and other urban parks like Superkilen and Urban Rigger. In Billund, Denmark, they created a mixed–use space, LEGO House, that celebrates the Danish innovation. They have also created innovative residential projects internationally including the VIA 57 West that overlooks the Hudson River in New York City and the Hualien in Taiwan that evokes the feeling of mountains and nature in its fluid design.