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Zero energy snow cannon with water from a reservoir from above etc.

No electric cables for snow cannons needed any more

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presented by Michael Palomino

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Basler Zeitung online, Logo

Switzerland Nov 23, 2012: Zero-energy snow cannon uses hydropower from reservoir upstream
from: Basler Zeitung online: Lots of snow, little energy
(orig. German: Viel Schnee, wenig Energie)
http://bazonline.ch/wissen/technik/Viel-Schnee-wenig-Energie/story/28451939

Translation from Deepl:

<By Walter Jäggi

The snowmakers' recipes are getting better all the time. Already, snow lances are being developed that do not require a power supply.

Since the first accidental discoveries in the 1950s, the artificial production of snow has been based on the principle of trial and error. Water was sprayed into the cold winter air and snow was produced - or not.

Since artificial snow consists not of flakes but of frozen water droplets, the snow masters - the experts at the snow cannons - over time made use of a finding by meteorologists on the formation of rain: a fine mist of tiny droplets, only a thousandth of a millimeter in size, provides nuclei to which the water particles attach, which are ejected by a second nozzle. Droplets up to two millimeters in size are formed, which ice up on their short flight through the air from the outside to the inside. The quality of the snow depends above all on the humidity and the temperature.

Efficient snow cannons wanted

Snow can be made with mobile propeller machines or with stationary snow lances. Since more and more slopes are being sprayed with artificial snow, slope makers are very interested in efficient snow cannons. The physical processes involved in the transition from water to ice grain were studied for the first time in the world using scientific methods at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern (Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz) in Switzerland in Windisch.

Kurt Heiniger, professor of thermal and fluid engineering, an expert in waterjet technology, together with experts from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), developed a snow lance that uses only a fifth of the compressed air and thus electricity compared to conventional models. Marketed under the name Nessy by the small Swiss manufacturer Bächler, it is selling quite well, according to Bruno Koch, one of the managing directors.

Harnessing the energy of water

Kurt Heiniger was not yet satisfied with Nessy. In his laboratory, the economical snow lance was further developed to a zero-energy type that requires no power supply at all. "We use the energy that is in the water," Heiniger explains. If the water comes from a reservoir or storage basin several hundred meters higher up, there is enough pressure to operate the snow lance without electricity. This saves operating costs, but above all it eliminates the need for costly pipelines for compressed air and electricity. However, the second generation of snow lances is not yet in use.

The development of artificial snow systems is not only of interest in Switzerland. Leitner, the major South Tyrolean ropeway and snow machine manufacturer, is involved in the European EcoArtiSnow research project, in which a Fraunhofer Institute and the Toggenburg mountain railroads are also collaborating. The first prototypes have already been run in Toggenburg, and the project will last until 2014.

Energy storage

The pipe networks for water, compressed air and electricity are the most expensive part of any snowmaking system. For each kilometer of snow-covered slope, investments of around one million Swiss francs can be expected. The expensive storage lakes, reservoirs, pumps and water pipes could also be used in summer. Small hydropower plants or even small pumped storage systems could be integrated into the existing infrastructure.

Unfortunately, says Roland Zegg, head of the consulting firm Grischconsulta, these opportunities are still hardly used in Switzerland. This is in stark contrast to Austria, where some ski resorts are already producing more electricity than they need themselves, and can use it to bolster their balance sheet, which is heavily dependent on winter weather.

Water is stored temporarily

The provision of water is the bigger problem in snow production than power supply. Without wells, reservoirs, pumping stations and pipelines, it is not possible. Two to two-and-a-half cubic meters of snow require one cubic meter of water, and all the technology in the world can't change that, says Bruno Koch of snow lance manufacturer Bächler, but he also emphasizes: "The water is not consumed, it's stored temporarily, so to speak, until the snow melts." Geographically, ski areas would be predestined for the use of renewable energies: Slopes for hydroelectric power, sunshine for photovoltaics, wind for wind turbines, and electrical installations are available. The obstacles are political, not technical, says Zegg. There are some Swiss examples, however, such as the hydro grids in Flims and Samnaun, the small solar ski lift in Tenna in the canton of Grisons, and the Little Matterhorn mountain restaurant in Zermatt, which is powered by solar cells. "Much more would be possible," Zegg says.

Besides propeller machines and snow lances, there are other methods for snow production, but they are too expensive. An Israeli company, for example, is building the Snowmaker, which is used in individual ski resorts. It can produce snow even at high temperatures. In Zermatt, it is needed to extend the slope on the receding Theodul glacier to the Dry Bridge (Trockener Steg) station before the onset of winter. (Tages-Anzeiger)>




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