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China: World's largest indoor ski resort applies energy saving measures

Shanghai’s new indoor ski resort relies heavily on refrigeration technologies, including 33 snow-making machines to feed the pistes.

This September, the L*SNOW Indoor Skiing Theme Resort officially opened near Shanghai, China. Certified by the Guinness World Records as the largest indoor ski resort, the facility includes a 90,000 square meter-wide skiing area, as well as shops, hotels, and a still-unopened water park.

 

To maintain an indoor temperature around freezing point, the ski resort requires 72 refrigerating systems along with 33 snowmaking machines to feed the ski pistes [1]. According to a study published in Advances in Climate Change Research, over 95% of ski resorts in China (indoor and outdoor) mainly rely on artificial snowmaking [2].

 

Chinese officials concede that such a project inevitably consumes a lot of energy. Therefore, several energy saving measures have reportedly been integrated, including ice storage and waste-heat recovery systems [1]. In addition, three-quarters of the building's roof is covered with solar photovoltaic panels to help power it.

 

 

Visit FRIDOC for more information on energy-efficient snowmaking or heat recovery in winter sports
Heat-driven snow production applying ejector and natural refrigerant.
Field measurements of CO2 refrigeration systems with heat recovery in retrofitted ice rinks.

 

 

Sources

[1] https://www.dw.com/en/china-worlds-largest-indoor-ski-resort-opens-in-shanghai/a-70152504

[2] Xu, X.-W., Wang, S.-J., & Han, Z.-Y. (2023). Potential impacts of climate change on the spatial distribution of Chinese ski resorts. Advances in Climate Change Research, 14(3), 420–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2023.05.003