Snowmaking Project FUTURO: Power Plant And Snowmaking Systems In The Area Of The Elm Sports Railways
The Glarus Süd technical company operates the hydroelectric power plants in the municipality of Glarus Süd in Elm. The first systems were built over 110 years ago and have since contributed to a sustainable power supply using local, renewable energy. The plant is a three-stage power plant that extends from the Pleus area to the middle of the village of Elm. Individual parts of the power plant systems are at the end of their service life and must be renovated in the medium term.
For around three decades, the power plant systems have been closely linked to the technical snowmaking systems at the Elm sports track. Water storage tanks and water pipes are already used for both purposes today. The optimal use of the synergies between electricity production and snowmaking has offered added value for tourism and local electricity production for many years.
With the issuance of the special use plan in the Elm tourist area by the Glarus Süd municipal council, the spatial planning foundations for the implementation of FUTURO are laid.
In an effort to achieve the greatest possible benefit from their investments, the Elm sports railways on the one hand and the technical companies on the other hand are coordinating and optimizing the FUTURO snowmaking project as well as the renovation and renewal of the existing power plants in Elm.
The sustainable survival of the Elm sports railways as the most important key tourism infrastructure and the cheap and ecological power supply in Glarus South will be strengthened in the long term by exploiting the synergy potential.
