Panorama Mountain Village
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The story
We found $515,000 in the snow.
The situation
The snow guns at Panorama Mountain Village were low to the ground, requiring large amounts of energy to force the water and air mixture out through the front. In addition, the machines were only useable at certain temperatures and generated a lot of noise.
The solution
Working together with Panorama's Graham Wood, BC Hydro's Mike Brandson, initiated a thorough analysis of the ski resort to help the company gain a better understanding of its energy use and to identify opportunities for savings. During the analysis, they soon discovered that most of the energy consumption came from snowmaking. Of the 2.96 million kWh used by the snowmaking machines each season – 1.82 million kWh or 61% was used to generate the compressed air that is needed to mix with water to create snow.
As a result of this key finding, Mike helped Panorama identify an innovative and more efficient technology for snowmaking. A customized snowmaking machine was built on-site, saving Panorama over half a million dollars in reduced costs. But it doesn't stop there. The new snowmaking equipment has also helped Panorama extend its ski season.
Contact us
Are you wondering if you too can find money in unexpected places? Call your BC Hydro representative or Contact Us today to find out about our Power Smart solutions to help your business become more competitive.
Last Modified: Jun 27, 2002
