MICHAEL MINICHBERGER SALZBURG.
Salzburger Nachrichten
Andreas Innerhofer, CEO of Gasteiner Bergbahnen AG, is open about numbers that cable car operators would otherwise prefer to keep secret. His company is regarded as a model student when it comes to efficiency. According to Innerhofer, annual electricity consumption amounts to around eleven gigawatt hours (GWh). This corresponds to the average annual consumption of 2500 households.
If the future Salzburg AG standard tariff of 27 cents per kilowatt hour were taken as a basis, the electricity bill would be around three million euros. Of course, the cable cars have special contracts with different conditions. It's still about millions. When the lift managers from Austria, Germany and Switzerland proclaim that energy optimization is the most important requirement of the hour at their big conference, it doesn't just have an ecological background.
Plans to build their own power plants, wind turbines or solar systems are rolling through some cable cars, but implementation takes years. The potential in the field of snow production can be tapped immediately, says Innerhofer. "We work according to a master plan that we developed and implement together with an external consulting company." It is the company Arena Pistenmanagement based in Wals-Siezenheim. Managing Director Robert Sölkner explains the approach: "All snow groomers are equipped with GPS and snow depth measurements." The data collected over the years is combined with current and historical weather information and numerous other parameters such as the altitude, the orientation of a section of the slope or the number of downhill runs to be expected. Based on a sophisticated data analysis, it is possible to very efficiently calculate the amount of artificial snow required for each slope area.
For the coming winter season, snow production in Gastein is calculated with a saving of up to 25 percent on certain sections of the slopes. "That means less water, less electrical energy and fewer working hours for preparation," says Andreas Innerhofer. And many euros saved.
The snow-making system is the biggest consumer in a ski area, but also forms the basis of the business. 35 to 40 percent of the electricity required goes into the production of artificial snow. "We have 530 snow guns, lances and cannons." He is glad that the topic was already being intensively addressed before the energy crisis. "Many people have the technology to measure, but so far only a few have managed to carry out targeted evaluation and implementation strictly based on it."
In Schladming, they have been relying on the targeted slope management from Wals for almost ten years. Thomas Pitzer, the technical manager of the Planai mountain railways, has 790 snow guns at his disposal. "We produce around 2,5 million cubic meters per season." In the industry, two to three euros per cubic meter are expected. In the case of the Styrians, this results in 5 to 7,5 million euros a year. Around 30 percent was saved as a result of the optimization, says Pitzer. He still sees enormous potential in this area from the competition.
Salzburg's cable car spokesman Erich Egger locates intensive efforts in all major mountain railways, snow depth measurement is widespread. "For smaller companies it is of course a cost issue." The additional potential through professional evaluation of data cannot be assigned out of hand. "There will certainly be a lot going on in the coming years."
Criticism of the cable cars as energy wasters is inappropriate, says Egger. "It's annoying when we want to build small hydroelectric power plants or wind turbines that procedures have to be carried out for years."
More efficiency with data analysis
Come hell out of it it used to be common practice to make snow. The climate and energy crisis have heralded a rethink in the industry. The company Arena Pistenmanagement in Wals-Siezenheim advises cable cars on optimal snowmaking. Managing director Robert Sölkner and his team work together with KitzSki, the Planai mountain railways and the Gastein mountain railways. 30 percent savings without compromising the quality of the slopes are easily possible, says Sölkner.