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113-1043: Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme that consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connected by 145 kilometres (90 mi) of tunnels and 80 kilometres (50 mi) of aqueducts located mainly in the Kosciuszko National Park . Snowy Hydro also owns and operates two gas-fired power stations in Victoria and one in New South Wales , three diesel power stations in South Australia and owns two electricity retailing businesses, Red Energy and Lumo Energy . The company

226-474: A crystalline structure like ice. In mid-altitude clouds, the usual seeding strategy has been based on the fact that the equilibrium vapor pressure is lower over ice than over water. The formation of ice particles in supercooled clouds allows those particles to grow at the expense of liquid droplets. If sufficient growth takes place, the particles become heavy enough to fall as precipitation from clouds that otherwise would produce no precipitation. This process

339-578: A Digital Storytelling project to present a diverse collection of stories told from the point of view of seven ex-workers, two lifelong employees and a child of a Snowy worker. As part of the project, participants created short films about their experience on the Snowy Scheme, each story offering a unique perspective into what life was like building the Scheme between 1949 and 1974. The project's artistic director Jenni Savigny assisted participants to make

452-620: A Film Australia documentary, Snowy, A Dream of Growing Up (1989). Her book is based on about 90 oral histories with former Snowy workers and residents, with original recordings archived as a research collection at the State Library of New South Wales. An updated 70th anniversary edition of her book was published by New South in 2019 and its content showcased by Richard Fidler in an interview with McHugh for his popular ABC podcast, Conversations. Most recently, Snowy Hydro , Woden Community Service, Gen S Stories and PhotoAccess partnered for

565-576: A cloud seeding project, created in response to lower water levels for hydroelectric power due to dry weather. In February of that year, a group of officials from the SLAF, Ceylon Electricity Board , and meteorology and irrigation departments were sent to Thailand to study rainmaking projects carried out by the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation . On March 22, a Harbin Y-12 flew over

678-454: A cost of A$ 820 million; a dollar value equivalent in 1999 and 2004 to A$ 6  billion . Around two thirds of the workforce employed in the construction of the scheme were immigrant workers, originating from over thirty countries. The official death toll of workers on the Scheme stands at 121 people. Some 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) of roads and tracks were constructed, seven townships and over 100 camps were built to enable construction of

791-636: A dam near Cabramurra fell about 400 feet when the cable broke, killing 4 Italian employees of a French construction firm. Various stories and memoirs have been written about work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Siobhan McHugh 's social history, The Snowy: The People Behind the Power is the most prominent, having been awarded the NSW Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction and being the source of an ABC radio documentary series (1987) and

904-466: A few experiments at GE's Schenectady Research Lab. He was dismayed to find that the deep freezer was not cold enough to produce a "cloud" using breath air. He decided to move the process along by adding a chunk of dry ice just to lower the temperature of his experimental chamber. To his astonishment, as soon as he breathed into the deep freezer, he noted a bluish haze, followed by an eye-popping display of millions of microscopic ice crystals, reflecting

1017-639: A flight that began in upstate New York on 13 November 1946. Schaefer was able to cause snow to fall near Mount Greylock in western Massachusetts after he dumped six pounds (2.5 kg) of dry ice into the target cloud from a plane after a 60-mile (100 km) easterly chase from the Schenectady County Airport . Dry ice and silver iodide agents are effective in changing super-cooled clouds' physical chemistry, and thus useful in augmenting winter snowfall over mountains and, under certain conditions, in lightning and hail suppression. While not

1130-435: A gas, has also been used. It can produce ice crystals at higher temperatures than silver iodide. After promising research, the use of hygroscopic materials, such as table salt , is becoming more popular. When cloud seeding, increased snowfall takes place when temperatures within the clouds are between −20 and −7 °C. Freezing nucleation is induced by the introduction of substances similar to silver iodide, which has

1243-472: A long enough time to show statistically any change from natural variations. An attempt by the U.S. military to modify hurricanes in the Atlantic basin using cloud seeding in the 1960s was called Project STORMFURY . Scientists tested four hurricanes across eight days and observed decreased wind speeds of 10% to 30% on four of these days. They originally attributed the lack of results to faulty execution, but

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1356-515: A new technique, hygroscopic seeding for enhancement of rainfall in warm clouds is enjoying a revival, based on positive indications from research in South Africa, Mexico, and elsewhere. The hygroscopic material most commonly used is table salt. It is postulated that hygroscopic seeding causes the droplet size spectrum in clouds to become more maritime (bigger drops) and less continental, stimulating rainfall through coalescence. From 1967 to 1972,

1469-516: A payload of electric-charge emission instruments and customized sensors that fly at low altitudes and deliver an electric charge to air molecules. This method produced a significant rainstorm in July 2021. For instance, in Al Ain it rained 6.9 millimeters on 20–21 July. An electronic mechanism was tested in 2010, when infrared laser pulses were directed to the air above Berlin by researchers from

1582-465: A study to gauge its viability locally. In Southeast Asia , open-burning haze pollutes the regional environment. Cloud seeding has been used to improve the air quality by encouraging rainfall. On 20 June 2013, Indonesia said it will begin cloud-seeding operations following reports from Singapore and Malaysia that smog caused by forest and bush fires in Sumatra have disrupted daily activities in

1695-542: A target of 21% within 10 years. However, by October 2008 it was evident that the return of environmental flows to the Snowy River in 2009 would be no more than 4% of natural flow with governments arguing the Snowy River needs to "pay back" the "Mowamba Borrowings". At the 2010 state election , Ingram lost the seat of Gippsland East to the Nationals . In 2017, it was announced that the 21% target would be reached for

1808-404: Is Talbingo Dam with an embankment volume of 14 488 000 m and a wall height of 161.5 metres. Khancoban Dam is the longest dam in the scheme with a crest length of 1,067 metres (3,501 ft). A variety of dam and spillway types were used in the construction. With a capacity of 4,798,400 megalitres (1,055.5 × 10 ^  imp gal; 1,267.6 × 10 ^  US gal), Lake Eucumbene

1921-533: Is "difficult to show clearly that cloud seeding has a very large effect". Environmental and health impacts are considered minimal due to the low concentrations of substances used. But concerns persist over the potential accumulation of seeding agents in sensitive ecosystems. The practice has a long history, with initial experiments dating back to the 1940s, and has been used for various purposes, including agricultural benefits, water supply augmentation, and event planning. Legal frameworks primarily focus on prohibiting

2034-455: Is known as "static" seeding. Seeding of warm-season or tropical cumulonimbus (convective) clouds seeks to exploit the latent heat released by freezing. This strategy of "dynamic" seeding assumes that the additional latent heat adds buoyancy, strengthens updrafts, ensures more low-level convergence, and ultimately causes rapid growth of properly selected clouds. Cloud seeding chemicals may be dispersed by aircraft or by dispersion devices on

2147-657: Is listed as a National Engineering Landmark by Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . Cloud seeding Cloud seeding is undertaken by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei . Common agents include silver iodide , potassium iodide , and dry ice, with hygroscopic materials like table salt gaining popularity due to their ability to attract moisture. Techniques vary from static seeding, which encourages ice particle formation in supercooled clouds to increase precipitation, to dynamic seeding, designed to enhance convective cloud development through

2260-749: Is owned by the Government of Australia and whilst not a statutory corporation, is established by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act 1949 (Cth) . Prior to its incorporation under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) , the company was previously known as Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority. The company manages the Snowy Mountains Scheme that generates on average around 4,500 gigawatt hours of clean, renewable energy each year, which

2373-407: Is popular in the lakes of the Scheme, notably Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene. The Snowy Scheme Museum opened at Adaminaby in 2011 to profile the history of the Scheme. Though skiing in Australia began in the northern Snowy Mountains in the 1860s, it was the construction of the vast Snowy Scheme from 1949, with its improvements to infrastructure and influx of experienced European skiers among

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2486-486: Is the largest reservoir in the Scheme. At the other end of the scale, Deep Creek Reservoir is the smallest reservoir with just 11 megalitres (2.4 × 10 ^  imp gal; 2.9 × 10 ^  US gal). (km) Lined (m /s) Completed The Snowy Mountains Scheme has two pumping stations. The 600 MW pump storage facility at Tumut 3 Power Station returns water to Talbingo Reservoir . The 1 MW Jindabyne Pumping Station pumps water from Lake Jindabyne through to

2599-411: Is unable to say with assurance which, if any, seeding techniques produce positive effects. In the 55 years following the first cloud-seeding demonstrations, substantial progress has been made in understanding the natural processes that account for our daily weather. Yet scientifically acceptable proof for significant seeding effects has not been achieved". A 2010 Tel Aviv University study claimed that

2712-603: The Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act, 1997 (NSW) for fixed five-year terms, this licence prescribes the rights and obligations on the company with respect to the collection, diversion, storage, use, and release of water within the Snowy area. The Snowy Water Licence also imposes some obligations on the company in terms of releasing environmental flows east into the Snowy River and other rivers in

2825-643: The Eureka organization in 2001 for an invention that is beneficial to the world. In 2009, Jordan received permission from Thailand to use the technique. On 12 October 2005 the European Patent Office granted to King Bhumibol Adulyadej the patent EP 1 491 088 Weather modification by royal rainmaking technology . The budget of the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation in FY2019

2938-623: The Great Dividing Range . The water falls 800 metres (2,600 ft) and travels through large hydro-electric power stations which generate peak-load power for the Australian Capital Territory , New South Wales and Victoria . The Scheme also provides some security of water flows to the Murray-Darling basin , providing approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4 × 10  cu ft) of water a year to

3051-471: The Maskeliya Reservoir at 8000 feet, dispersing cloud seeding chemicals. Rain arrived the next day on March 23, though project members had expected it to appear earlier on the 22nd. News First proclaimed that the pilot project had "proven to be a success", while Mongabay described it as a "failed attempt" that had "fallen short" and highlighted various climate experts who recommended that

3164-572: The Murray-Darling Basin . The Scheme provides approximately 2,100 gigalitres (7.4 × 10  cu ft) of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about A$ 3 bn per annum, representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production. The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, is one of the most complex integrated water and hydro-electric power schemes in

3277-557: The National Electricity Market , generating approximately 67% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market. The Snowy Scheme's primary function is as a water manager, however under the corporatised model must deliver dollar dividends to the three shareholder governments - the NSW, Commonwealth and Victorian Governments. The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to

3390-681: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA; Department of Commerce). Reclamation sponsored several cloud-seeding research projects under the umbrella of Project Skywater from 1964 to 1988, and NOAA conducted the Atmospheric Modification Program from 1979 to 1993. The sponsored projects were carried out in several states and two countries (Thailand and Morocco), studying both winter and summer cloud seeding. From 1962 to 1988 Reclamation developed cloud seeding applied research to augment water supplies in

3503-598: The Snowy River and some of its tributaries , much of which formerly flowed southeast onto the river flats of East Gippsland , and into Bass Strait of the Tasman Sea , is captured at high elevations and diverted inland to the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers irrigation areas. The Scheme includes two major tunnel systems constructed through the continental divide of the Snowy Mountains , known in Australia as

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3616-659: The United States Bureau of Reclamation and Snowy Mountains Hydro to provide technical assistance and training of engineers was agreed between the United States and Australia in Washington, D.C. , on 16 November 1951. A loan for $ 100 million was obtained from the World Bank in 1962. Tunneling records were set in the construction of the Scheme and it was completed on time and on budget in 1974, at

3729-504: The University of Geneva . The experimenters posited that the pulses would encourage atmospheric sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide to form particles that would then act as seeds. Whether cloud seeding is effective in producing a statistically significant increase in precipitation is a matter of academic debate, with contrasting results depending on the study in question and contrasting opinion among experts. A study conducted by

3842-491: The haze began in early-August. Johor Water Regulatory Body is focus to produce rain over dams with critically low water levels. They use Cessna 340 with tubes of ioidise salt their operation base is at Senai Airport WMKJ. The Thailand Royal Rainmaking Project ( Thai : โครงการฝนหลวง , RTGS :  khrongkan fon luang ) was initiated in November 1955 by King Bhumibol Adulyadej . Thai farmers repeatedly suffered

3955-502: The pygmy possum , among other species, as well as recent high-level algal blooms in once pristine glacial lakes. Research 50 years ago and analysis by the former Snowy Mountains Authority led to the cessation of the cloud seeding program in the 1950s with non-definitive results. Formerly, cloud seeding was rejected in Australia on environmental grounds because of concerns about the pygmy possum. The claims of negative environmental impact are disputed by peer-reviewed research, as summarized by

4068-779: The revolution of 1978, in the years 1989 to 1995, cloud fertilization was carried out in a scattered manner using ground generators in the heights of Shirkuh, Yazd. Then, with the announcement of the Minister of Energy in February 1996, the National Center for Cloud Fertility Research and Studies was established in Yazd and officially started working in 1997. Israel conducted experimental cloud seeding for seven years from 2014 to 2021. The practice involved emitting silver iodide from airplanes and ground stations and took place only in

4181-437: The 14 MW Jounama mini-hydro (commissioned in 2010) and growth of its retailing business, Red Energy . In September 2014 Snowy Hydro purchased gas and electricity retailer Lumo Energy for $ 600 million. Red Energy currently has 1.6 million electricity and gas customers. In addition Snowy Hydro has developed its gas-fired power station portfolio to reduce risks to the business due to its reliance on water as an energy source, and

4294-406: The 16 major dams, seven hydroelectric power stations, two pumping stations, 145 kilometres (90 mi) of tunnel and 80 kilometres (50 mi) of pipelines and aqueducts. Just 2% of the construction work is visible from above ground. Two of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent; Cabramurra , the highest town in Australia; and Khancoban . Cooma flourished during construction of

4407-605: The 2008 Olympic Games in order to have a dry Olympic season. In February 2009, China also blasted iodide sticks over Beijing to artificially induce snowfall after four months of drought, and blasted iodide sticks over other areas of northern China to increase snowfall. The snowfall in Beijing lasted for approximately three days and led to the closure of 12 main roads around Beijing. At the end of October 2009 Beijing claimed it had its earliest snowfall since 1987 due to cloud seeding. According to "research paper from Tsinghua University,

4520-486: The Australian platypus and native Australian Bass , the species over which Ingram initially fought for flows into the Snowy River. A major spillway upgrade now facilitates these flows. Construction of the Scheme began in 1949 and was completed in 1974. Guthega power station commenced power production on 21 February 1955. The total installed capacity is 4.073 gigawatts (5,462,000 hp). The Scheme's largest dam

4633-662: The Bureau of Reclamation sponsored a six-state research program from 2002 to 2006 called the "Weather Damage Modification Program". A 2003 study by the United States National Academy of Sciences urges a national research program to clear up remaining questions about weather modification's efficacy and practice. In Australia , the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) conducted major trials between 1947 and

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4746-546: The Chinese government used cloud-seeding techniques to force rainfall the evening before the celebration event. This rainfall lowered the amount of PM2.5 pollution by more than two-thirds. That helped improve the air quality at the time from "moderate" to "good". In India , cloud seeding operations were conducted during the years 1983, 1984–87, and 1993–94 by the Tamil Nadu Government due to severe drought. In

4859-486: The Chinese weather authorities used weather modification to ensure the sky was clear and lower air pollution" on July 1, 2021. The Chinese Communist party celebrated its centenary on July 1 with a major celebration. The celebration took place in Tiananmen Square. The paper was published on November 26, 2021 in a peer-review journal called Environment Science (via South China Morning Post) . The research shows that

4972-475: The Clean Water Act of 1977 and 1987 to establish regulations on this type of pollution." Cloud seeding over Kosciuszko National Park  – a biosphere reserve – is problematic in that several rapid changes of environmental legislation were made to enable the trial. Environmentalists are concerned about the uptake of elemental silver in a highly sensitive environment affecting

5085-789: The Commonwealth Government was limited in the powers it could exercise, without the agreement of the States . Subsequently, the Commonwealth Government introduced legislation into the Federal Parliament under its defence power; and enacted the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949 (Cth) that enabled the formation of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority . Ten years later,

5198-626: The Desert Research Institute in Reno, claimed that new technology and research has produced reliable results that make cloud seeding a dependable and affordable water supply practice for many regions. Moreover, in 1998 the American Meteorological Society held that "precipitation from supercooled orographic clouds (clouds that develop over mountains) has been seasonally increased by about 10%." Despite

5311-614: The International Weather Modification Association. In 1891, Louis Gathmann suggested shooting liquid carbon dioxide into rain clouds to cause them to rain. During the 1930s, the Bergeron–Findeisen process theorized that supercooled water droplets present, while ice crystals are released into rain clouds, would cause rain. While researching aircraft icing , General Electric (GE)'s Vincent Schaefer and Irving Langmuir confirmed

5424-566: The Law on Water and its Nationalization, the then Ministry of Water and Electricity was obliged to provide the water needed by the country in various ways, including cloud fertilization. Accordingly, the Ministry of Energy between 1953 and 1957, in cooperation with a Canadian company and using aircraft and silver iodide compound fertilized the clouds that were over the Karaj and Jajrud dam area. After

5537-709: The NAS study was acquired in a separate study conducted by the Wyoming Weather Modification Pilot Project, but whereas the NAS study concluded that "it is difficult to show clearly that cloud seeding has a very large effect", the WWMPP study concluded that "seeding could augment the snowpack by a maximum of 3% over an entire season." In 2003, the US National Research Council (NRC) released a report stating, "science

5650-929: The Palace Electric Cinema in New Acton in Canberra and can be viewed on the Woden Community Service YouTube Channel. The Scheme is operated by Snowy Hydro Limited , an unlisted public company incorporated pursuant to the Corporations Act, 2001 (Cth), owned by the Australian Federal government. There is currently further work ongoing for the expansion of the snowy scheme under the Snowy scheme 2.0 announced in 2017. Despite government support it has received many criticisms and concerns over

5763-413: The Scheme and remains the headquarters of the operating company of the Scheme. Townships at Adaminaby , Jindabyne and Talbingo were inundated by the flooded waters from Lake Eucumbene , Lake Jindabyne and Jounama Reservoir . Improved vehicular access to the high country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at Thredbo and Guthega in the 1950s by former Snowy Scheme workers who realised

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5876-582: The Sierra Nevada of California and a 2004 independent panel of experts in Australia confirmed these earlier findings. "In 1978, an estimated 3,000 tonnes of silver were released into the US environment. This led the US Health Services and EPA to conduct studies regarding the potential for environmental and human health hazards related to silver. These agencies and other state agencies applied

5989-553: The Snowy Mountains Scheme was seen as a means of supplementing the flow of the great inland rivers, a means for developing hydro-electric power, and also a way to increase agricultural production in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys. Following World War II , the Government of New South Wales proposed that the flow of the Snowy River be diverted into the Murrumbidgee River for irrigation and agricultural purposes. There

6102-592: The Snowy Mountains region. In December 2005, the Government of New South Wales announced it would sell its 58% share in Snowy Hydro, expecting to yield A$ 1 billion. The Federal and Victorian governments had followed suit, announcing by mid-February 2006 the intent to sell their 13% and 29% respectively, with A$ 1.7 billion (ranging up to A$ 3 billion) expectations through a public float . Pre-registration for shares in Snowy Hydro opened in mid May and it

6215-727: The Snowy River over the Mowamba Weir. The Dalgety District and Community Association started in response to dirty drinking water for the town of Dalgety, the loss of fishing and looming closure of the caravan park. A weir was constructed at Dalgety and the caravan park stayed as a result of their efforts. In accordance with the Snowy Water Licence, Snowy Hydro Limited has 're-commissioned' the Mowamba Aqueduct. Seasonal variable flows are essential to river ecology including flushing flows to support vital ecosystems for

6328-557: The Snowy and that any extra environmental flows were better used there instead. In the 1999 Victorian state election , the seat of Gippsland East was won by Craig Ingram , an independent and member of the Snowy River Alliance, based in large part on his campaign to improve Snowy flows. In 2000, Victoria and NSW agreed to a long-term target of 28%, requiring A$ 156 million of investment to offset losses to inland irrigators. In August 2002 flows were increased to 6%, with

6441-429: The Snowy river. An extensive public campaign led to the Snowy Water Inquiry being established in January 1998. The Inquiry reported to the New South Wales and Victorian Governments in October of that year, recommending an increase to 15% of natural flows. The two governments were equivocal about this target. Aside from economic considerations, there was a view that the health of the Murray was more important than that of

6554-410: The Snowy-Geehi Tunnel at Island Bend. In March 2017, the Australian government then headed by Malcolm Turnbull suggested a $ 2 billion project expanding the 4.1 GW Snowy Mountains Scheme by 2 GW of pump storage for a week, building new tunnels and power stations, but no new dams. The 80% efficiency of such storage can be sufficient in leveling differences between supply and demand. Dubbed Snowy 2.0 ,

6667-451: The U.S. military's Operation Popeye cloud-seeded silver iodide to extend the monsoon season over North Vietnam , specifically the Ho Chi Minh Trail . The operation extended the monsoon period an average of 30 to 45 days in the targeted areas. The 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron carried out the operation to "make mud, not war". One private organization that offered, during the 1970s, to conduct weather modification (cloud seeding from

6780-411: The United States National Academy of Sciences failed to find statistically significant support for cloud seeding's effectiveness. Based on its findings, Stanford University ecologist Jerry Bradley said: "I think you can squeeze out a little more snow or rain in some places under some conditions, but that's quite different from a program claiming to reliably increase precipitation." Data similar to that of

6893-423: The Universities of Wyoming, Washington, UCLA, Utah, Chicago, NYU, Montana, and Colorado, and research teams at Stanford, Meteorology Research Inc., and Penn State University, and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, North Dakota, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma. Cooperative efforts with state water resources agencies in California, Colorado, Montana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Arizona assured that

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7006-411: The applied research met state water management needs. HIPLEX also partnered with NASA, Environment Canada, and the National Center for Atmospheric Research ( NCAR ). From 2002 to 2006, in cooperation with six western states, Reclamation sponsored a small cooperative research program called the Weather Damage Modification Program. In the U.S., funding for research has declined in the last two decades. But

7119-462: The basin for use in Australia's irrigated agriculture industry. In 2016, the Snowy Mountains Scheme was added to the Australian National Heritage List . Since the 1800s, both the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers have been subject to development and control to meet water supply and irrigation needs. By contrast, the Snowy River, that rises in the Australian Alps and flows through mountainous and practically uninhabited country until debouching onto

7232-417: The border of New South Wales and Victoria , the scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and 225 kilometres (140 mi) of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that were constructed between 1949 and 1974. The Scheme was completed under the supervision of Chief Engineer, Sir William Hudson . It is the largest engineering project undertaken in Australia. The water of

7345-559: The common practice of cloud seeding to improve rainfall, with materials such as silver iodide and frozen carbon dioxide, seems to have little if any impact on the amount of precipitation. A 2011 study suggested that airplanes may produce ice particles by freezing cloud droplets that cool as they flow around the tips of propellers, over wings or over jet aircraft, and thereby unintentionally seed clouds. This could have potentially serious consequences for particular hail stone formation. In 2016, Jeff Tilley, director of weather modification at

7458-404: The computer was used from 1960 to 1967. At the completion of the project, the Australian Government maintained much of the diverse workforce and established the Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), which is now an international engineering consultancy company. The Scheme is the largest renewable energy generator in mainland Australia and plays an important role in the operation of

7571-496: The early-1960s: Only the trial conducted in the Snowy Mountains produced statistically significant rainfall increases over the entire experiment. Hydro Tasmania (at the time still known as the Hydro Electric Commission) began experimenting with cloud-seeding over lake catchments in central Tasmania in the early 1960s in order to determine if their electricity-producing dams could be kept at high water levels through cloud seeding. Tasmania proved to be one place where cloud seeding

7684-402: The effects of drought. The king resolved to do something about it and proposed a solution to the dearth of rain: artificial rainmaking , or cloud seeding. The program is run by the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation. Thailand started a rain-making project in the late-1950s, known today as the Royal Rainmaking Project . Its first efforts scattered sea salt in the air to catch

7797-563: The expansion has been under construction since 2019 and was expected to be complete by 2026. Delays have meant the project will not be fully operational until 2029. The Snowy Scheme is a major tourist destination. Sightseeing driving tours to the key locations of the Scheme are popular out of regional centres like Cooma , Adaminaby and Jindabyne along roads built for the Scheme like the Snowy Mountains Highway and Alpine Way and towards sights like Cabramurra, as Australia's highest town, spectacular dam walls, and scenic lakes. Trout fishing

7910-435: The first time. Some concerned water managers, conservationists, politicians and farmers continue to advocate for the return of environmental flows to the Snowy River. The Snowy River Alliance formed in 1996 to address the lack of environmental flow commemorates Snowy River Day annually, towards the end of August, to mark the 2002 anniversary of when the governments of Victoria, NSW and the Commonwealth first released water into

8023-411: The ground (generators or canisters fired from anti-aircraft guns or rockets ). For release by aircraft, silver iodide flares are ignited and dispersed as an aircraft flies through the inflow of a cloud. When released by devices on the ground, the fine particles are carried downwind and upward by air currents after release. Since 2021, the United Arab Emirates have been using drones equipped with

8136-488: The ground using silver iodide flares) was Irving P. Krick and Associates of Palm Springs, California . They were contracted by Oklahoma State University in 1972 to conduct a seeding project to increase warm cloud rainfall in the Lake Carl Blackwell watershed . That lake was, at that time (1972–73), the primary water supply for Stillwater , Oklahoma , and was dangerously low. The project did not operate for

8249-601: The growing season in Montana, Kansas, and Texas from 1974 to 1979. In 1979, the World Meteorological Organization and other member-states led by the Government of Spain conducted a Precipitation Enhancement Project (PEP) in Spain, with inconclusive results due probably to location selection issues. Reclamation sponsored research at several universities, including Colorado State University,

8362-531: The humidity and dry ice to condense the humidity to form clouds. The project took about ten years of experiments and refinement. The first field operations began in 1969 above Khao Yai National Park . Since then the Thai government claims that rainmaking has been successfully applied throughout Thailand and neighboring countries. The king received recognition for the Royal Rainmaking Project from

8475-402: The logistical and financial feasibility of the operation. The original plan was for 99% of the water of the Snowy River 's natural flow to be diverted by the Scheme below Lake Jindabyne . Releases from the Scheme were based on the needs of riparian users only and took no account of the ecosystem's needs. It soon became clear that there were major environmental problems in the lower reaches of

8588-507: The military or hostile use of weather modification techniques, leaving the ownership and regulation of cloud-seeding activities to national discretion. Despite skepticism and debate over its efficacy and environmental impact, cloud seeding continues to be explored and applied in regions worldwide as a tool for weather modification. The most common chemicals used for cloud seeding include silver iodide , potassium iodide and dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). Liquid propane , which expands into

8701-818: The mixed scientific results, cloud seeding was attempted during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing to coax rain showers out of clouds before they reached the city in order to prevent rain during the opening and closing ceremonies. Whether this attempt was successful is a matter of dispute, with Roelof Bruintjes, who leads the National Center for Atmospheric Research's weather-modification group, remarking, "we cannot make clouds or chase clouds away". With an NFPA 704 health hazard rating of 2, silver iodide can cause temporary incapacitation or possible residual injury to humans and other mammals with intense or chronic exposure. But several detailed ecological studies have shown negligible environmental and health impacts. The toxicity of silver and silver compounds (from silver iodide)

8814-536: The neighboring countries. On 25 June 2013, hailstones were reported to have fallen over some parts of Singapore. Despite NEA denials, some believe that the hailstones are the result of cloud seeding in Indonesia. In Malaysia, cloud seeding was first used in 1988 for three purposes: filling up dams, lessening the effects of haze, and fighting forest fires. In 2015, cloud seeding was done daily in Malaysia since

8927-437: The northern parts of the country. Israel stopped the rain enhancement project in 2021 due to the experiment data showing that the practice was largely ineffective and expensive, and because there had been some recent years of unrelated significant rainfall. To counter drought and a growing population in a desert region, Kuwait is embarking on its own cloud seeding program, with the local Environment Public Authority conducting

9040-503: The outbreak of the battle, and a test commenced the following month. Results were disappointing; while it did not take long for the rain clouds to form and release precipitation, they often drifted away from Route Provinciale 41 in the process, reducing their ability to hinder Việt Minh logistics. In January 2019, the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) and Ministry of Power, Energy and Business Development signed an agreement for

9153-538: The pilots the cloud that has a high concentration of super cooled liquid water. The aircraft will find the altitude where the temperatures are about -5 °C. This is the altitude at which the seeding agent is most active. Pakistan has undergone its first-ever artificial rain experiment using cloud seeding, in a move carried out with the help of the United Arab Emirates Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi said there

9266-621: The possible diversion of a number of rivers in the area, tributaries, not only of the Snowy, but of the Murray and Murrumbidgee. The recommendations of the Committee were generally agreed to by a conference of Ministers representing the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and Victoria, and it was also agreed that the Committee should continue its investigations. However, limitations in the Australian Constitution meant that

9379-505: The potential for expansion of the Australian ski industry. The Scheme is in an area of 5,124 square kilometres (1,978 sq mi), almost entirely within the Kosciuszko National Park . The design of the scheme was modelled on that of the Tennessee Valley Authority . Over 100,000 people from over 30 countries were employed during its construction, providing employment for many recently arrived immigrants , and

9492-622: The potential impact of transmission constraints on the ability of the remote Snowy Mountains hydro generation assets to access the electricity grid. In January 2015 Snowy Hydro acquired the gas-fired Colongra Power Station in New South Wales. Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme , also known as the Snowy Hydro or the Snowy scheme , is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia . Near

9605-665: The public, including government MPs and prominent Australians. In February 2014 the National Commission of Audit recommended in its Phase One Report that the Federal Government sell its interest in Snowy Hydro. In March 2018, the Federal Government bought out the New South Wales and Victorian government shareholdings. Since privatisation was cancelled in 2006, the company has continued to grow with investment into Snowy Scheme modernisation projects, cloud seeding , development of mini hydro opportunities such as

9718-483: The release of latent heat . Methods of dispersion include aircraft and ground-based generators, with newer approaches involving drones delivering electric charges to stimulate rainfall, or infrared laser pulses aimed at inducing particle formation. Despite decades of research and application, cloud seeding's effectiveness remains a subject of debate among scientists, with studies offering mixed results on its impact on precipitation enhancement. Some studies suggest it

9831-688: The relevant States and Territories introduced their own corresponding legislation and in January 1959 the Snowy Mountains Agreement was reached between the Commonwealth and the States. The legislation created the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority that was given responsibility for the final evaluation, design and construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The final agreed plan was to divert

9944-468: The results came into question because of the lack of supercooled water in the hurricane and the inability to determine if the effects were due to human intervention or the natural processes of hurricanes. Two federal agencies have supported various weather modification research projects, which began in the early 1960s: The United States Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation; Department of the Interior) and

10057-547: The river flats of East Gippsland, had never been controlled in any way, neither for the production of power nor for irrigation. A great proportion of its waters flowed eastwards into the South Pacific Ocean (the Tasman Sea). The Snowy River has the highest headwater source of any in Australia and draws away a large proportion of the waters from the south-eastern New South Wales snowfields. The construction of

10170-406: The short films; enabling them to put together the scripts, record voice overs and edit the short films. In an interview with Andrew Brown ( The Canberra Times ), Savigny said it was important to create a history of the Snowy Hydro using the participant's own words, "You just get a personal sense of what it was like to be there, and what it meant to people's lives." The films premiered 7 June 2018 at

10283-489: The state of New York. Schaefer's method altered a cloud's heat budget; Vonnegut's altered formative crystal structure, an ingenious property related to a good match in lattice constant between the two types of crystal . (The crystallography of ice later played a role in Vonnegut's brother Kurt Vonnegut 's novel Cat's Cradle ). The first attempt to modify natural clouds in the field through "cloud seeding" began during

10396-414: The strong light rays from the lamp illuminating a cross-section of the chamber. He instantly realized that he had discovered a way to change super-cooled water into ice crystals. The experiment was easily replicated, and he explored the temperature gradient to establish the −40 °C (−40 °F) limit for liquid water. Within the month, Schaefer's colleague, the atmospheric scientist Bernard Vonnegut ,

10509-666: The table below. These assets are used to generate electricity for sale under contract to the National Electricity Market. As part of the company's responsibilities for managing the Snowy Mountain Scheme, Snowy Hydro Limited also collects, stores, and diverts water for irrigation from the Snowy Mountains catchment west to the Murray and Murrumbidgee River systems under what is called the Snowy Water Licence . Granted as part of

10622-606: The technique is still actively deployed there. The largest cloud seeding system is in the People's Republic of China . They believe that it increases the amount of rain over several increasingly arid regions, including its capital city, Beijing , by firing silver iodide rockets into the sky where rain is desired. There is even political strife caused by neighboring regions that accuse each other of "stealing rain" using cloud seeding. China used cloud seeding in Beijing just before

10735-580: The theory. Schaefer discovered the principle of cloud seeding in July 1946 through a series of serendipitous events. Following ideas he and Langmuir generated while climbing Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, Schaefer, Langmuir's research associate, created a way of experimenting with supercooled clouds using a deep freeze unit of potential agents to stimulate ice crystal growth, i.e., table salt, talcum powder, soils, dust, and various chemical agents with minor effect. Then, on July 14, 1946, he wanted to try

10848-422: The two proposals, initiated a meeting to discuss the use of the waters of the Snowy River, and a Committee was set up in 1946 to examine the question on the broadest possible basis. This Committee, in a report submitted in November 1948, suggested consideration of a far greater scheme than any previously put forward. It involved not only the simple question of use of the waters of the Snowy River, but consideration of

10961-442: The waters of the Snowy Mountains region to provide increased electricity generating capacity and to provide irrigation water for the dry west. It was "greeted with enthusiasm by the people of Australia" and was seen to be "a milestone towards full national development". The chief engineer, New Zealand -born William Hudson (knighted 1955), was chosen to head the scheme as Chairman of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, and

11074-927: The western U.S. The research focused on winter orographic seeding to enhance snowfall in the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada, and precipitation in coast ranges of southern California. In California Reclamation partnered with the California Department of Water Resources ( CDWR ) to sponsor the Serra Cooperative Pilot Project (SCPP), based in Auburn , to conduct seeding experiments in the central Sierra. The University of Nevada and Desert Research Institute provided cloud physics, physical chemistry, and other field support. The High Plains Cooperative Pilot Project (HIPLEX) focused on convective cloud seeding to increase rainfall during

11187-487: The workers on the Scheme, that really opened up the mountains for the large scale development of a ski industry, and led to the establishment of Thredbo and Perisher as leading Australian resorts. The construction of Guthega Dam brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957. Charles Anton, a snowy worker identified the potential of the Thredbo Valley. The scheme

11300-471: The world and is listed as a "world-class civil engineering project" by the American Society of Civil Engineers . The scheme interlocks seven power stations and 16 major dams through 145 kilometres (90 mi) of trans-mountain tunnels and 80 kilometres (50 mi) of aqueducts. The history of the Snowy Scheme reveals its important role in building post World War II Australia. Sir William Hudson

11413-463: The years 2003 and 2004 Karnataka government initiated cloud seeding. Cloud seeding operations were also conducted in the same year through US-based Weather Modification Inc. in the state of Maharashtra . The company Srishti Aviation is actively involved in air defense with two Cessna 340 aircraft for its cloud seeding operations. On the ground at the radar facility the Meteorologist assigns

11526-644: Was 2,224 million baht . In Vietnam , during the leadup to and initial stages of the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ in 1954, the French Far East Expeditionary Corps looked into the possibility of using cloud seeding to impede Việt Minh flow of supplies through Route Provinciale 41, a dirt road leading into Điện Biên Phủ that would become more difficult to navigate during the rainy season . General Henri Navarre authorized research into using cloud seeding this way on March 16, just before

11639-541: Was appointed the first commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, serving between 1949 and 1967. The Commissioner's role was the overall management of the Scheme. He represented the Scheme at the highest levels of government, welcomed international scientists and engineers, encouraged scientific and engineering research, as well as attending many social and civic activities. Sir William's management style 'stressed cooperation between management and labour and scientific knowledge (facts) over opinion'. The Scheme

11752-650: Was around 37% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market in 2010. The company also owns a 300 MW gas-fired peaking power station in the Latrobe Valley , a 320 MW gas-fired peaking power station at Laverton North near Melbourne , and a 667 MW gas-fired peaking power station at Colongra on the Central Coast of New South Wales . It also owns three diesel-powered peaking power stations in South Australia providing 136 MW between them. The company's production assets are summarised in

11865-636: Was completed with the official opening of the Tumut 3 Power Station project by the Governor-General of Australia , Sir Paul Hasluck GCMG GCVO KStJ on 21 October 1972. The Scheme used a number of innovative approaches to all sorts of things during its construction. For example all vehicles driven on all parts of the scheme were required to be fitted with seatbelts for driver and front seat passenger; and that these seatbelts were required to be used. On 16 April 1958, an elevator at

11978-553: Was credited with discovering another method for "seeding" super-cooled cloud water. Vonnegut accomplished his discovery at the desk, looking up information in a basic chemistry text and then tinkering with silver and iodide chemicals to produce silver iodide. Together with Professor Henry Chessin, of SUNY Albany , a crystallographer, he co-authored a publication in Science and received a patent in 1975. Both methods were adopted for use in cloud seeding during 1946 while working for GE in

12091-654: Was drizzle in 'at least 10 areas' of Lahore, consistently ranked the most polluted city in the world. In Jakarta , cloud seeding was used to minimize flood risk in anticipation of heavy floods in 2013, according to the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology. In 1946, the Iranian government tried to fertilize Iran's clouds with the help of Americans, but it was unsuccessful. Then in 1947, in Article 19 of

12204-402: Was expected that the float would take place some time in July. Over 200,000 people pre-registered to purchase shares in the company over two weeks. On 2 June 2006, the Federal Government announced that it would no longer sell its 13% stake in the project, effectively forcing the hands of the New South Wales and Victorian governments to follow suit. The aborted sale followed strong opposition from

12317-475: Was highly effective. Various trials were undertaken between 1964 and 2005, and again between 2009 and 2016, but none have taken place since then. Hydro Tasmania also undertook soil and water survey samples and found negligible trace elements of the materials used for cloud seeding (such as silver iodine), and determined it did not have a detrimental effect on the environment. An Austrian study to use silver iodide seeding for hail prevention ran during 1981–2000, and

12430-400: Was important in Australia's post- war economic and social development. Seventy percent of all the workers were migrants. During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout. The project used Australia's first transistorised computer ; one of the first in the world. Called 'Snowcom',

12543-456: Was instructed to seek workers from overseas. Hudson's employment of workers from 32 (mostly European) countries, many of whom had been at war with each other only a few years earlier, had a significant effect on the cultural mix of Australia. Construction of the Snowy Scheme was managed by the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority. It officially began on 17 October 1949 and took 25 years, being officially completed in 1974. An agreement between

12656-481: Was little emphasis placed on the generation of power. A counter proposal by the Government of Victoria involved a greater generation of power, and involved diversion of the Snowy River to the Murray River. Additionally, the Government of South Australia was concerned that downstream flows on the Murray River would be severely jeopardised. The Commonwealth Government , looking at the national implications of

12769-441: Was shown to be of low order in some studies. These findings likely result from the minute amounts of silver generated by cloud seeding, which are about one percent of industry emissions into the atmosphere in many parts of the world, or individual exposure from tooth fillings. Accumulations in the soil, vegetation, and surface runoff have not been large enough to measure above natural background. A 1995 environmental assessment in

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