Snowbird resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon is self-powered by a cogeneration facility that recently won a national award for exemplary engineering.
— a time when avalanche danger is so high that ski areas shut down access to the slopes and order skiers to take shelter in buildings.
"What was really difficult was the original plant was designed as a steam system, and those engines no longer are manufactured by Caterpillar so they had to go to hot water," Harris said. "They wanted to increase the capacity, and there was not sufficient room in the existing building to put the new plant. And furthermore, they couldn't just shut it down, tear it out and put in something new — that system had to continue to function electrically and thermally.
Thankfully, these challenges weren't for nothing, as the new and improved Snowbird Power Systems came with a myriad of upgrades compared to its predecessor. "Most systems release this heat, and it is considered wasted. Cogeneration systems such as Snowbird Power Systems recapture that heat and use it instead of it going to waste. We use it to heat the Cliff Lodge and other facilities such as The Cliff Spa rooftop hot tub and pool," Sherman said.
In doing so, the resort saves 62,000 dekatherms of natural gas a year — the equivalent of removing the emissions from 789 passenger vehicles for one year.
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