-5°C 
SUMMER 100% ENERGY SELF-SUFFICIENT // WINTER TO ONE THIRD
The Pitztaler Gletscherbahn is a pioneer in the field of electricity generation through the power of the sun, especially since the company was the first cable car operator to set up a photovoltaic system of this dimension at such alpine altitudes – at 2,840 m – back in 2015. Currently, an average of 1.4 million kwH of clean electricity is generated from solar energy every year. This covers the entire energy demand in summer operation as well as about one third of the energy demand during ski operation (end of September to May). In some months (usually from May to the beginning of July), when the facility is closed for maintenance work, the excess energy generated is fed into the TINETZ (TINETZ-Tiroler Netze GmbH is a wholly owned subsidiary of TIWAG-Tiroler Wasserkraft AG) and is thus not lost.
Additional energy to 100% from renewable sources
The higher electricity demand in winter, which cannot be produced ourselves, also comes 100% from clean energy sources from the TINETZ. The electricity we use is made up of:
- 84.90% hydropower
- 10.37% wind energy
- 2.02% solid or liquid biomass
- 1.64% photovoltaics
- 1.05% biogas
- 0.02% other green energy
Environmental impact of electricity production: The production of the present supply mix does not generate any CO2 emissions or radioactive waste.
SOURCE // Electricity labelling pursuant to 78 paras. 1 and 2 ElWOG 2010 and the Electricity Labelling Ordinance for the period from 01.01.2020 to 31.12.2020. 79.77% of the guarantees of origin used come from Austria and 20.23% from Norway. Electricity labelling TIWAG
IN ZUKUNFT ENERGIEAUTONOM
Das klare Ziel ist es, zeitnah zu 100% energieautonom zu werden. Das gelingt zum einen durch technische Innovation – so ist mit dem neuen Gletscherexpress nicht nur ein stromsparender Betrieb gelungen, sondern es kann während der Fahrt sogar selbst etwas Energie erzeugt werden – zum anderen aber auch durch einen weiteren Ausbau der Photovoltaik-Anlage. Da es sich bei unseren Flächen um einen sensiblen Naturraum handelt, ist ein sorgsames Vorgehen wesentlich und bedarf für diese Anlage auch eines strengen Genehmigungsverfahrens durch die Umweltbehörden. Derzeit befindet wir uns hier in einer intensiven Planungsphase. Ein interessanter Aspekt der Energiegewinnung, der Einige überraschen mag, ist jener, dass in unserer Höhenlage aufgrund des höheren UV-Anteils sowie der Abstrahlung durch die großen weißen Schneeflächen aus Photovoltaik rund ein Drittel mehr Sonnenenergie gewonnen werden kann als in niederen Lagen.
Soviel Energie produziert unsere Photovoltaikanlage.
Die Fakten auf einen Blick:
- Energieaufwand für Sommerbetrieb am Pitztaler Gletscher zu 100% durch Sonnenergie aus eigener Photovoltaik-Anlage.
- Ein Drittel des Energiebedarfs während des Skibetriebs durch eigene Sonnenenergie, der Restbedarf stammt ebenfalls zu 100% aus sauberen Energiequellen aus dem TINETZ – Wasserkraft Windenergie, feste oder flüssige Biomasse, Photovoltaik, Biogas und sonstiger Ökoenergie.
- Energieüberschüsse werden in das TINETZ eingespeist und gehen nicht verloren.
- Der neue Gletscherexpress fährt nicht nur grün, sondern erzeugt auch selbst Energie mittels Dynamo-Prinzip.
- Die Pitztaler Gletscherbahn ist Vorreiter und hat die erste Photovoltaik-Anlage in dieser Höhenlage und Dimension errichtet. Sie produziert ein Drittel mehr Strom als Anlage in tiefen Lagen.
- Das klare Ziel ist es zu 100% energieautonom zu werden. Derzeit ist man in der Planungssphase.
SAVING ENERGY // IN ALL AREAS
We have scrutinised all areas of the business to identify potential energy savings that do not compromise the experience of our ski guests. The result is a comprehensive package of measures that we will already be implementing in the winter season 2022/2023. Our declared goal is to further reduce our energy consumption. The greatest potential for energy savings lies in the ongoing operation of the lifts, snowmaking and the preparation of the slopes. One of the central measures is therefore to flexibly control the operation of the lifts, depending on the number of guests. For example, capacity utilisation is usually higher in holiday weeks than in school weeks. At off-peak times in the morning and late afternoon, it is lower than during the day. Accordingly, we adjust the speed of the lifts, for example, depending on the capacity utilisation.
We are convinced that with our action plan we can make a significant contribution to energy savings without our guests having to accept any loss in their skiing experience:
To ensure high piste quality, not all natural snow pistes of a glacier ski area have to be groomed every day. Therefore, it is constantly evaluated which pistes need to be groomed at all and only groomed in the necessary areas. The width of less heavily used pistes is reduced.
In the restaurants, the average indoor temperature will be reduced by two degrees. Full restaurant operation will be concentrated on the core hours at lunchtime. Outside the core hours, this will be adjusted according to the capacity utilisation.
In the course of the current energy crisis, the common seat heaters in cable car installations are often discussed and often appear as a symbol of energy waste, although they only make up a small part in the overall picture. For us, however, this is not an issue, because the energy for heated seats comes from our own solar systems.
In our lower situated skiing area Rifflsee there will still be no night offers for ski tourers. We will not be offering night skiing in either ski area.
Dr. Hans Rubatscher has succeeded in creating an innovation – in order to reduce the weight and thus also the power consumption of cable cars, he has simply moved the transport of skis/snowboards to the interior of the gondola. Holes in the floor ensure comfortable transport of the skis.
In addition, we are continuously developing medium- and long-term measures to further reduce our energy consumption and increase our own energy production. Only in this way can we ultimately achieve our goal of energy autonomy.
Against the current
As early as 2010/2011, we pioneered a field test for wind energy at the Kaunertal Glacier, in which we hold a majority stake as Pitztaler Gletscherbahn GmbH & Co KG, together with Energiewerkstatt, Leitwind and Vestas Central Europe. In the process, the conditions for the Pitztal Glacier were also examined. In the area of the mountain station of the Wiesenjaggel at 3,025 metres above sea level, conceivable points for the installation of wind turbines were defined and corresponding measurements were carried out there over a period of eight months by Energiewerkstatt, a highly specialised technical consulting company for renewable forms of energy.
The measurement results, which we subsequently evaluated with the wind turbine manufacturers listed above, were unfortunately sobering. It turned out that it is not worthwhile for us to rely on wind energy: at our altitude of 3,000m, the air density decreases, which has a negative effect on the yield of a wind turbine. In addition, the wind is not constant in our area and reduces the energy yield even more by constantly switching on and off. Based on these results, we have decided not to install a wind turbine and to rely on solar energy in the future.